Heart High
by Nittles
Summary: -As started by Depressed Chibi. High school pregnancy drama. They're trainee doctors, surely they should know the consequences of having unprotected sex. Oh well, boys will be boys. M Preg, rating will change.
1. One

_Here is where the opening is supposed to go. I say supposed because I'm not going to put one. Telling you my entire life story leaves less questioning on your part. If I told you everything then why would you want to read this? But I can tell you one thing..._

_My name is Percival Ulysses Cox, but you can call me Perry._

* * *

><p>It was just another ordinary day.<br>The beeping of the alarm, the lingering smell of whiskey and the shooting pain that travelled up his side a reminder that some things never really change.  
>Yup, same old shit, different day.<p>

Perry sighed loudly as he rolled onto his side and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on, and no matter how many pathetic attempts he made to try and cure his pain by rubbing his temples; he knew from experience that it was not going to calm. He lay still for a few moments before swinging his legs out of bed and straightening himself up. God, he hated school. No; that was a lie. Seven hours in that poor excuse of a school was far more exciting than even a minute in this hellhole. At least he could escape from that drunken bastard he was supposed to call his father.

He was quick to get ready and meet Paige at the breakfast table. They went to different schools, and by God, was he grateful, but he couldn't help the feeling of calm that threatened to overtake him every time he reminded himself that they were on the same schedule. She would never be left alone with _him_. Perry took the seat opposite his sister and gave her a small nod. She raised her eyebrows but smiled back nonetheless, even murmuring a small 'good morning,' as she did so.

They ate in silence, careful not wake their parents. After breakfast, they put their dishes away as quickly as they could without breaking them before grabbing their school bags and darting out of the house. Once the lock on the front door had been clicked into place, they could breathe a huge sigh of relief that the morning ritual was over.

Perry had taken it upon himself not long ago to walk with his sister until she reached her bus stop; after all, his bus stop was a little further down, but still close enough that he couldn't ignore her completely.

"How are you and Jordan?" Paige turned her head to face her brother, her eyes boring into the side of his face as she broke the silence.

Perry rolled his eyes and let out a small growl. Ever since he had ended things with Jordan his sister had been on his case. He'd tried, on several occasions, to get her to see it from his perspective. He'd told her that he, Percival Ulysses Cox_, _wanted to keep just a little of his soul away from the clutches of Satan's daughter. She'd snorted at that of course, telling him that they were, in fact, perfect for each other and that he was just going through a phase.

"Oh, the fire of hate is still burning strong," he muttered, turning to smirk at the look on his sister's face.

"What is it with you?" Paige gave Perry a small smack on the arm before sighing. "I hope you come to your senses before it's too late, Per."

"For the last time, Paige..." Perry scowled, flicking his nose with his forefinger before crossing his arms. "...It's not just me. We _both_ hate each other, and even if she begged me to come back 'cause she wants a big strong man, I will not now, not tomorrow, not _ever _go back to the dark side."

"Yes you will," Paige retorted definitely. "I mean, who else is there for you? I for one don't see how anybody other than Jordan could have stood you and those stupid rants of yours for the best part of four years."

Perry didn't give a reply. Instead, he growled loudly before pushing past his sister and heading briskly towards his own stop. Every day he made it to his stop just as the bus pulled up. Today was no exception. He hopped on to the bus, nodding to the driver as he made his way past the cabin towards the seats at the back. He found his best friend staring dreamily out of the window, but the way in which Perry slumped loudly into his seat knocked Ben out of his trance. He turned to face his friend, noticing the agitated look spread across his features.

"'Sup?"

Perry sighed, dropping his bag onto the floor between his feet. "Paige keeps pestering me about Jordan."

Ben laughed and nudged his friend in the shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about that _Per Per_; she'll soon get over it once you find somebody else."

Perry snorted and raised his eyebrows. "That's the problem, _Ben_, when is this 'someone else' going to show up?"

Ben winked and wiggled his eyebrows. "Today might just be your lucky day."

Perry turned to find Ben staring intently at his face. As their eyes locked, Perry could feel himself angling his body towards Ben's, their faces very slowly inching closer together. Once they were only mere centimetres apart, their heads began to tilt slightly, their breath beginning to mingle. Moments later, Perry quickly pulled away and couldn't help but laugh at the Ben's victorious smile.

"Damn it!"

Ben held up his arms in triumph. "I will always win at gay chicken!"

Whilst they were laughing, a girl peered over their seats and looked at them with an amused smile. "What are you girls doing?"

Ben turned round and pulled a face. "Oh sorry, did we bother you, sis?"

Jordan rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers on the back of Ben's seat. "Oh no, I love watching girls make out," she muttered sarcastically.

"_Please_, Jordan; you're just mad that you're not even close to getting any." Perry scoffed.

She raised an eyebrow and gave Perry a questioning look. "I can get any guy on this bus to make out with me." She smirked, standing up and looking around the bus. "Who wants to make out with me?"

Jordan watched in satisfaction as every male bar Perry and Ben shot their hands into the air. She snorted and turned back to her brother. "You see?" She smiled once more before sitting back down. Nobody could resist a piece of the devil.

Perry alternated his glances between Ben and his ex. "_How_ in God's name are you two _related_?"

Ben shrugged and pulled out his homework book. He flicked through the pages until he found the one he was looking for and buried his head in it. The rest of the journey was quiet, with the occasional mutterings from Perry as he helped Ben with his homework.

* * *

><p>Perry walked towards his first class with Ben. They were both in the doctor elective. That's the thing about Sacred Heart, it's a high school completely made up of people trying to be in the medical field. Needless to say, not everybody was trying to be a doctor or surgeon, nor was everybody cut out for such professions, but everybody had that ambition to be something great. However, core subjects such as Math, English and Science were not forgotten, oh no. In fact, Sacred Heart was just an average high school, except all electives were specifically associated within the medical field. School nurses, doctors, surgeons, nurses, paediatricians, plastic surgeons. You name it, you could study it.<p>

Because of the school's strange educational set up, there were a few things that changed as a result. For one, they didn't have a school nurse (every day a new senior was picked to fill the role). Their cheap principle also decided to have the school opened to the public, allowing anybody to step foot onto the premises in order to have a check up regardless of their medical record (for a small fee, of course). Unsurprisingly, not many people actually took the principle up on his offer. How many individuals would place their lives in the hands of inept teenagers? Every once in a while, however, the odd case of teenage pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases would appear.

Perry and Ben nodded their farewells and split ways to their classes. Perry sat down heavily at his desk which was situated near the back corner. It wasn't like he was anti-social; he just didn't want to catch anything nasty from the incompetent morons he had to call his classmates. He had already started on his work when the teacher suddenly called everybody to attention with a loud throat clear. He glanced up for a moment feigning mild interest.

"Everybody, I'd like to welcome a new student to the class." The teacher scanned the room suspiciously. "I expect you all to be nice and welcoming." She turned her head towards the door and nodded. The new student hesitantly crossed the threshold and stood next to her.

_That was the first time I saw her. When the teacher had first spoken her name it had been subconsciously burned into my brain. Janette Michelle Dorian. Actually, that wasn't her name. I mean, she wasn't even female. I just say that because of those big girly doe eyes, the black silk hair that's been plastered in product, and that figure. If you really want to know, his name was John Michael Dorian. Now don't go thinking its love at first sight, and don't, for the love of God, don't go thinking that just because I said he had big doe eyes that I cannot keep my eyes of him. To tell you the truth, I didn't even like him when he walked in. He looked like an oddball. _

He smiled nervously at the class, scanning the room for a friendly face as he held his books tightly to his chest. "This is John Dorian," the teacher announced, turning to face the fidgeting kid as she spoke. "Is there anything else you would like to say, John?"

He quickly shook his head and awaited further instruction. "Alright, you can just take a seat over there for the time being." She pointed to the empty seat located diagonally from where Perry was seated. John took his seat quickly.

Perry couldn't help but watch the new boy for a while; there was just something about him that was strange. John noticeably tensed up and turned slightly to glance at him. The brief eye contact was enough to make the younger boy quickly look away. His eyes were focused on the book in front of him, and Perry couldn't help but notice the red blush that had formed over John's cheeks.

Perry raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He turned his attention back to the work on his desk, unable to shake the feeling in his gut that was telling him this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

><p>Perry sighed in relief as he heard the lunch bell resound through the classrooms and corridors. He and Ben had different schedules so the only time they ever got to properly hang out was at lunch time.<p>

He entered the lunch room, passing all the 'normal people' as he went. He couldn't tell you their real names, hell, he didn't care enough for that. He did know, however, that Ghandi and Barbie were freshmen. He only knew that because he remembered Carla introducing them to him. Carla was the closest thing he had to a friend in this dump, bar Ben. She was two years below him, and it pained him to admit that at one point he had actually _liked _her. He'd found out eventually that his desire for her was unrequited, yet he'd still managed to stay in her good books.

He sat down at his table with Ben, Lavern and Jordan. The women were deeply engrossed in conversation, allowing the boys to talk about anything they so wished to.

"What's up?" Ben mumbled, picking enthusiastically at his lunch tray. Perry watched Ben dissect his food with an amused smile. The school lunch was a disaster. It was practically inedible, a shock seeing as they were supposed to be learning in a medical high school, in which health was obviously a huge issue.

"Nothing," Perry sighed, turning his nose up at the food in front of him and pushing it away from his with a growl.

"You shouldn't lie," Ben mumbled through a mouthful of burger, pointing his fork accusingly in Perry's direction.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Perry smirked, picking up the drink carton off his abandoned tray.

"Something happened today and I want to know what!" Ben whined as he swallowed the last of his food.

Perry rolled his eyes. "Nothing's happened, there's just some new kid."

Ben's head snapped up suddenly. His eyes started scanning the hall eagerly, hoping to identify the new person.

"Really? Where is she? Is she cute?"

"He is over there," Perry pointed towards John. He was sitting at Ghandi's table with a dreamy look on his face. He then suddenly snapped out of it and muttered something. Everybody at that table became silent, staring intently at the newbie. He had his hands clamped tightly over his mouth and was blushing deeply. Ghandi appeared to be the first to break the silence, saying something excitedly before hugging the new kid. The tension lifted and everybody at that table resumed talking and laughing.

"Ohhh, so he is cute." Ben teased, raising his eyebrows knowingly at Perry.

Perry almost choked on his drink. He quickly spat it out and had a small blush on his face "_What?_"

**For those who do not know, this is a re-edit and will follow on to be a continuation of Heart High originally started by Depressed Chibi.**


	2. Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own scrubs. **

_I bet Perry did that whole 'I'm not going to ruin the story' thing. Well, I'm doing the same thing, just so he doesn't get mad at me. Not to worry, I won't leave you hanging; I will be narrating along the ride. But to start a good story you at least have to know who's talking to you._

_My name is Jonathan Michael Dorian, but you can call me JD._

* * *

><p>The loud shrill of the alarm clock resounded in his bedroom, but JD was ready and waiting for it. Silencing the sound, JD sat up and grinned to himself. Today was the day he finally got to start at Sacred Heart High School. He had always wanted to be a doctor, and now the opportunity had presented itself, JD wasn't sure he could contain his excitement much longer.<p>

He hoped out of bed, using the palm of his hand to smooth over the creases that had formed on his clothes whilst he had slept. He had been so thrilled at the prospect of new friends and a new career that he had prepared, emptied and re-prepared his school bag at least three, four, five times as well as dressing himself three hours before he needed to. Needless to say, he didn't need that alarm clock. He hadn't slept a wink. JD ran quickly to the bathroom to fix his hair, after all, he wouldn't be happy unless it was perfect. Once his hair had been moulded into shape, he jumped down the stairs two at a time and dashed into the kitchen.

The only person occupying the space was his brother, Dan. "Hey, little bro!" Dan stifled a yawn.

"Hey, Dan. Where's mom?" JD scanned the room, face dropping a little as he couldn't locate the woman in question.

"Sleeping off another hangover." Dan sighed, shrugging as if it was the least important thing in the world.

"Oh, alright." JD shrugged before turning his attention breakfast. He pulled out the carton of eggs from the refrigerator and set to work. He was the only person in the house who could cook a decent meal. His mother had tried, but she just couldn't do it. Every time she attempted it, something would catch fire.

_Now, you may be wondering why I don't appear to be too concerned about the fact my mom's sleeping off yet another hangover. The thing is; our mom parties... a lot. If there is a chance for her to go out, whether it's with her friends, some new boyfriend that she's picked up, or even just on the off chance of getting a few free drinks, then she's there. It's not healthy, but it's become an addiction, a major addition to her life. It's not unusual for her to be like this, so I often just cook her breakfast and stick it in the fridge for when she wakes up._

Once breakfast had been made and served JD took his seat. "I'm telling you Johnny, you should have gone out for culinary instead of medicine," Dan mumbled, taking a bite out of his eggs and gesturing towards his plate.

"Dan, you can't save a person's life with food." JD pouted. "That is, of course, unless you have malnutrition."

Dan rolled his eyes. "OK, OK, if it's what you really want."

JD smiled and glanced at the clock. "Come on, we gotta get going." He chugged the remainder of his drink before putting his dishes in the sink.

Dan quickly followed suit, quickening his pace as he watched his brother start to walk out the door. Dan waited until they were on the sidewalk before giving his brother a quick pat on the back and running to his bus stop. JD smiled and turned in the opposite direction towards his own stop. When he arrived at his stop, he leant against the pole and waited patiently for the bus to arrive. As he stood there, his mind began to wander.

"_Doctor, he's coding!" A nurse shouted urgently in his direction as the man in question came rushing through the doors with the paddles. "Charging, andddd clear!" The Doctor watched as the heart monitor sprung back into action, the vital indication that the man had been successfully resuscitated. _

"_Wow," the nurse exclaimed. "You are amazing!"_

_The Doctor stood up straight and struck a pose. "Death is no problem for Dr. Dorian." Whilst everybody was admiring and cheering the young Doctor, the man's chest starting to move. Everybody watched the man's chest as three hundred monkeys suddenly started flying out of the patient. _

"_Doctor, hurry! You need to-"_

Beep

JD opened his eyes, startled by the sudden distraction. He pushed himself off the pole and quickly boarded the bus. "Darn it monkeys, you win this time," he muttered as he did so. JD grabbed the first seat that had enough space to keep from others noticing him.

As he finally began to settle into his seat he heard a loud throat clear next to him. Bemused, JD snapped his head round to face the source of the noise. He was greeted by a bald, stern looking African American boy. "Hey man, what you doing in my seat?"

Suddenly nervous, JD quickly jumped out of his seat and made to move to the aisle when he was carefully pulled back down. "Relax dude!" The boy started laughing, slapping his knee in mock hysterics. "I'm just playing. You're a new kid, right?"

JD nodded silently, a little more comfortable, but still nervous nonetheless.

"Hey man, don't worry about it. It's always scary on the first day." The boy pulled a face for emphasis and JD couldn't help but smile. "I'm Christopher Turk, but my friends just call me Turk."

JD relaxed into his seat. "I'm John Dorian, but everyone just calls me JD."

Turk held out his hand and smirked. "Nice to meet you, JD."

"Same," JD shook his head in embarrassment and started looking out the window. After a minute or two he finally worked up the courage to speak again. "So, what course are you in?"

Turk didn't miss a beat. "Surgeon, you?"

JD beamed with pride. "Doctor."

"So, are you freshman too, huh?"

JD grinned at the boy sitting next to him. "Yeah."

JD and Turk continued to chat heartily until the bus finally arrived at their school. Once they'd safely braved the crowd that was bustling into every possible entrance, Turk showed JD where his class and lockers were before giving him a cheesy thumbs up and stalking off to his own lesson.

JD stood outside the room. He could hear the teacher introducing him to the rest of the class. "Everybody, I'd like to welcome a new student to the class. I expect you all to be nice and welcoming." He took a deep breath and took his cue before walking hesitantly into the room and standing awkwardly next to the teacher.

He smiled nervously at the class, scanning the room for a friendly face as he held his books tightly to his chest. The last thing he wanted to do was speak or look at the wrong person. What if he was so nervous he couldn't string together a coherent sentence?

"This is John Dorian," the teacher announced, turning to face the fidgeting kid as she spoke. "Is there anything else you would like to say, John?" He quickly shook his head and awaited further instruction. The quicker he was away from prying eyes, the better.

"Alright, you can just take a seat over there for the time being." She pointed to the empty seat located near the back of the class. Breathing a sigh of relief, John took his seat quickly.

JD located everything he needed before beginning to work. He couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that somebody was watching him. He could feel eyes on him, and without thinking, he lifted his head and turned instinctively towards the boy sitting diagonally from him. The boy had short, curly copper hair. JD shivered as he watched the boys green eyes burn holes into his head. Their eye contact was brief, but JD quickly felt intimidated and buried himself back into his book. He couldn't help but feel his cheeks grow hot and he soon became overwhelmed with embarrassment and humiliation. He didn't blush, did he?

_Now, it's not what you think. I mean, it's not like I fell in love the moment I looked into his eyes. You have to remember, I'm new here. That's bad enough, but I transferred during the school term so I'm considered to be even more of an outsider. Let's face it; if you saw some guy in your class glaring at you for no apparent reason, you'd be shitting bricks too, right?_

* * *

><p>By the time lunch had come around, JD could hardly contain himself. He hadn't seen his new friend, Turk, all day and nobody else apart from that copper haired guy had even given him so much as a second glance. JD entered the cafeteria nervously, scanning the room quickly to try and find his friend but it was no use. The room was crowded and he wasn't quite tall enough to be able to peer effortlessly over people's heads. He spun around on the spot, looking every bit like a lost child in the middle of a mall, but the sudden shout of his name rooted him to the spot. He recognised the voice, and as he turned round toward the general direction of the source, he found Turk waving and smiling at him. He smiled back and skipped towards the table.<p>

He sat down and noticed other people sitting around the table that he didn't know. The first person he noticed was the girl sitting opposite him. She had shoulder length blond hair, light blue hands and crazy hand movements. JD watched in fascination as the girl kept blowing hair out of her face whilst continuing chattering away, seemingly not even pausing for breath. She caught him watching her from the corner of her eye, and she turned to give him a big smile before carrying on with her pointless gossiping. He couldn't help but notice the boy sitting next to the girl was staring intently at the girls breasts. He had brown hair that was mostly covered by a bandana. He whipped his head up to face JD when the girl shrieked in his ear and held up his hand. "New kid high five! He exclaimed excitedly.

JD hesitated, but then held up his hand for a high five. The other guy slammed his hand into JD's with such force that JD visibly winced and started shaking his hand wildly to stop the stinging. Turk gave JD a reassuring smile before resting his arm on his shoulder and pointing at his friends. "JD, this is Elliot, Todd and that..." he pointed at the guy sitting at the end of the table. "... Is Doug."

JD leant into Turk's touch and motioned to whisper in his ear. "What's wrong with him?"

Turk shrugged and removed his arm from JD's shoulder so he could pick up his sandwich. "He's always nervous. Besides," Turk mumbled through a mouthful of food. "We're all freshmen on this table apart from Todd, so you'll be fine hanging out with us." Turk gave Todd a knowing look. "But Todd's cool."

"Hey!" Todd protested loudly. "I'm not cool." His face turned serious for a moment, but it soon cracked as he lifted up his right hand expectantly. "I'm hot!" He grinned, his eyes darting between JD and Turk as he silently willed someone to not leave him hanging.

"He makes sex jokes a lot," Turk stated simply. JD just nodded, unsure of what to do. Whilst he was beginning to feel a little better about being the new kid, he didn't want to say anything too soon that might make him seem, well_, weird_.

"Hey guys." Turk started, resting his elbows on the table as if he was starting to tell an incredibly important story. "You won't believe the jerk I met today. He made such a big deal just because I was black." Turk watched in mild satisfaction as looks of feigned shock and outrage plastered themselves on his friend's faces. "I know, right! The guy even said he never _ever_ wanted to be cared for by the '_chocolate people'_." Turk rolled his eyes and leant forward to lean on his arms.

JD couldn't help but drift out into a daydream. _'Hmm, chocolate people.'_

_He was walking down the street, and saw a young black couple walking steadily towards him. As they passed, he grabbed the man's arm and ripped it right off, smiling when the man kept walking. As he continued to make his way down the street he bit off a finger and licked his lips._

"Dude?" Turk waved a hand in front of the new boys face.

JD gave a dreamy sigh. "Chocolate Bear."

JD opened his eyes wide in horror as the whole table went silent and everybody just stared at him. He covered his mouth in shock when he realised what he had said out loud.

As he braced himself ready for Turk to tear him a new one, he was surprised when Turk gave him a big hug and squealed in excitement. "That's perfect! I'll be Chocolate Bear and you can be Vanilla Bear!" Turk pulled away from JD briefly and looked into his eyes. "We can be Bear buddies!"

JD laughed but beamed proudly at the new nickname he had just been given.

"That reminds me of my brother's nickname," Elliot sighed dreamily. She puckered her lips and went on telling the story related to her brother and his new name. During the story, JD became distracted when he heard a loud _'what?'_ resound from a table a few aisles away. He glanced curiously over his shoulder and saw the copper haired guy from his class. The conversation on his table hadn't faltered, but JD couldn't help but let his glance linger on the boy for just a little longer, concern spreading on his features as he worried about what was going on.


	3. Three

"_What?_" Perry shouting, his voice rising slightly as he stared at Ben wide eyed.

Ben raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What? I was only complimenting your new toy," he smiled knowingly at Perry. His smile grew wider until he bounced up and down in his seat slightly; beaming as an idea suddenly hit him. "I know! Let's invite him over for lunch!" Ben shot up out of his seat and put his hands around his mouth to make his voice louder. "Hey, Ne-Mph!" Ben felt a hand clamp over his mouth before another one grasped his shoulder and pulled him back down into his seat.

"What in God's name do you think you're doing?" Perry hissed menacingly. He still had his hand clamped over Ben's mouth and was glaring at his friend.

"Mph mefhh meh mffft mpffhht," Ben mumbled, poking his tongue out to lick Perry's hand in the process. Perry snapped his hand away quickly; eyes wide open in mock disgust. "I was just being nice!" Ben repeated, shrugging his shoulders as he watched Perry's cheeks start going red once again.

"Well, don't." Perry growled, leaning away from Ben and folding his arms across his chest. "I don't need every freshman and his dog coming over to our table and being their little stupid selves just because you wanted to be nice!"

Ben faked a hurt expression. "But Per Per, don't you want to be nice to your toy?"

Perry tilted his head and gave his friend a questioning look. "Toy?"

Ben nodded his head towards Carla and Jordan, who were still engrossed in their own conversation and hadn't so much batted an eyelid at the commotion that had been occurring right beside them.

"You don't normally let people get to you, and when you do, they become like Jordan and Carla over here."

"But she is a guy!" Perry laughed nervously. "That means that nothing will ever happen!"

Ben pulled his camera out of his bag and started fiddling with the photo paper. "Why not," he mumbled, clearly distracted. "You did say yourself you needed someone else to get your sister off your back."

Perry growled once more and flicked his nose in irritation. "I'm only going to explain this one more time, because I can't help the feeling that you're just not grasping this very simple concept." Perry started to speak to Ben as if he was a child. "He. Is. A. Guy." Perry nodded his head several times. "That means he does not have lady parts." Perry clamped his hand to his mouth in mock shock and raised his eyebrows as far as they could go. "In fact, I think that means he has the opposite of lady parts, which is _man_ parts." Perry emphasised the man part and leant back in his chair.

Ben appeared undeterred by Perry's behaviour. "And?"

Perry had to do a double take to make sure he had heard Ben correctly. "And, and what?"

Ben stopped fiddling with his camera and turned to look his friend straight in the eye. In that moment Perry could have sworn time had stopped and that the only people in the cafeteria were him and Ben. Ben's face lacked all humour, something so rare for him that Perry had to sit on his hands to stop him reaching out to check for a pulse.

Ben sighed and took a deep breath. "What does it matter if he's a guy?" I mean, they say love is blind Perry and if floats your boat then why not." Ben smirked at the blank expression on his friends face.

"Ben..." Perry felt the blood drain from his face.

The humour returned to Ben's face just as quickly as it had left. Everything sudden snapped back into motion and the cafeteria began to liven up once more. Ben grinned slyly at his friend, disappearing from view for a moment as a quick flash of light appeared. Perry blinked and realised that Ben had just taken a picture.

"Ben," Perry growled, lunging for the camera. Ben had seen him coming and pulled it away from his grasp, jumping up out of his seat and started running around the hall.

"Ben, I'm going to make you swallow that camera!" Perry shouted across the room as he chased after his friend.

* * *

><p>JD watched in amusement as the copper haired boy jumped from his seat and started chasing a brunette boy out of the cafeteria. He could only assume the boy in question was Ben, seeing as that was the name that had been bellowed across the room. His eyes snapped away from the scene in front of him when he felt somebody nudge him in the arm. JD looked over at his friend.<p>

"What'cha looking at?" Turk asked, following JD's gaze.

JD pointed toward the running boys. "Who are they?"

Turk wrinkled his nose and sighed. "You see the guy with the brown hair?" JD nodded. "His name's Ben, pretty decent guy but gets distracted quite easily."

Elliot took a deep breath and smiled. "Oh, oh! He also takes pictures at the most random times. I mean, that's ok seeing as he's the school paper photographer, but it can get rather annoying at times!"

JD pretended he was listening to what Elliot had to say, but really his attentions were solely focused on the other boy.

"Who's the other guy?" JD voiced as much.

Turk puffed out his chest and huffed in annoyance. "Don't you worry about him; you'll be much better off if you don't get involved with him. He's the biggest jackass in this school."

"He also gives people stupid nicknames and goes off on crazy rants. They're really hurtful and sometimes make people cry." Elliot added, wishing herself not to cry as she recalled the first time she was on the receiving end of one of those.

JD watched as the two boys continued to muck about and wondered how his friends' accusations could be true. Maybe, just maybe he was a secret agent and had to be horrible to people in order to remain anonymous so his loved ones couldn't be targeted. He let his mind wander to images of the older male dressed up as a superhero and fighting crime at night. He was soon snapped out of his thoughts when a flash of light shone through his closed eyelids. He looked up and found Ben standing across from him, a camera in hand. He gave a smile, a wave goodbye and ran as the other male was at his heels.

* * *

><p>Perry finally caught up with his friend and tackled him to the ground. They were both panting heavily from the fact they had been running for so long. After taking a picture of JD, Ben had slipped out of the cafeteria and raced down the halls. Perry snatched the camera out of Ben's hand and inspected it closely. "New camera?"<p>

Ben nodded and grinned at the fact Perry had noticed. "Yeah, it's a Polaroid. It prints the pictures out automatically!"

Perry gave it one last final look over before handing it back to Ben. "Nice." He pushed himself off Ben and scrambled to his feet, holding out a hand to help Ben regain his balance once he too had stood. Once the pair had stood and brushed themselves down, a loud throat clear alerted them to the fact that they were not alone. They spun around to find Principle Kelso staring at them intently.

"Why, hello gentlemen. I do hope you have a hall pass or you'll be finding your pretty faces in detention this afternoon."

Before Ben could even open his mouth to speak, Perry had rummaged through his pockets and produced a pass. "As a matter of fact, Bobbo, we do." Perry smirked at the look on his Principle's face.

Kelso just glared at Perry, making mental note to punish the kid later on. "You should watch your tongue, sport. The Janitor loves a good mouth to test his new soap products on."

Parry glared back and smirked. "What you going to do if I don't old man?"

Kelso growled. "One more smark remark and I will have you suspended from this school."

Before Perry could so much as a let out a sign, Ben had covered his friend's mouth and muttered his apologies to the principle. After dragging his friend away until they were a safe distance away, Ben finally released his hold on Perry and turned to face him, a giant grin evident on his features. "Fake pass?

Perry smiled proudly. "I always keep it with me."

Ben rolled his eyes and patted his friend on the back. The bell soon rung and the boys found themselves heading towards their lockers in preparation for their next class. For the remainder of the day Perry couldn't get over what Ben had been saying about love. God damn it! He was Perry Cox; he didn't over think _anything_, especially girly things like love. He shook his head and stalked off towards his next class.

"Stupid Newbie."

* * *

><p>Turk was showing his new friend where the library was situated. They had a little time left before lunch was over so they decided to go exploring.<p>

Turk stopped and started patting down his pockets. "Damn! Hold on, I'll be right back. I left something behind!"

Before JD could say a word Turk was already running off to retrieve whatever he had left behind. JD sighed and observed his surroundings. He could hear the sound of someone running, but no matter what direction he turned to face he couldn't find the cause of the footsteps. During his observation, however, he saw a Janitor trying to fix a door. Sensing that Turk wouldn't be back any time soon, JD took a hesitant few steps towards the man before curiosity got the better of him. "What are you doing?"

The Janitor eyed the younger male for a moment. "I'm trying to fix this door, for some reason it's jammed." JD watched in fascination as the Janitor tried to unstuck the door using nothing but a screwdriver.

JD tilted his head and tried to think of all the reasons that could explain the door being broken. "Maybe a penny is stuck in it," he mused loudly.

The Janitor stopped what he was doing and looked at the younger male once more. He raised an eyebrow and alternated his glances between the door and the boy. "Did you put a penny in there?"

"No, I was just making small ta-"

"If I find a penny in there..." he poked JD in the chest with his tool "...I'm taking you down." He gave JD a very threatening look before watching smugly as the younger boy slowly backed away before turning on his heel and sprinting down the corridor to find his friend.

* * *

><p>JD walked down the corridor alone, feeling totally lost. He had lost Turk in the crowd of people and now there was nobody who was willing to help him find his way to class. He was so worried about searching for his room that he wasn't paying any attention to where he was going, and he suddenly found himself rebounding off somebody else and landing on the floor with a loud thud.<p>

He groaned loudly and looked up at the culprit. It was the principle. He instantly started cowering away. He hadn't meant to meet the man just yet, and what an impression he has given, bumping into him like this, literally. "I, uh, um... Sorry, sir!" JD frantically tried to string a sentence together, buckling under the menacing glare of the man standing before him.

The man raised his eyebrow and gave a small frown. "I'm so sorry sport, did I hurt you?" The man looked genuinely sincere.

"Uh, no sir," JD squeaked. He quickly pulled himself to his feet. Once he was balanced he studied the older man more closely, only to discover with mild intrigue that he was in fact a few inches taller than the principle.

Mr. Kelso smiled sweetly. "I'm guessing you're new here?"

JD smiled and willed himself not to stutter. "Y-yeah." _Damn it!_

"Well, not to worry sport; if you ever need something then just come and ask me. I want you to think of me as your safety net." the man smiled and made to move past the younger boy.

"Wait!"

Mr. Kelso looked back with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

JD stared intently at his shoes. "Where's the art room?"

Mr. Kelso laughed and clasped his hands together behind his back. "Well, sport. I think you'll find it's the room that says 'art' on it." He jerked his body towards the door to his left. JD felt his cheeks starting to burn as he realised the door had 'ART' written on it in giant letters.

He turned hesitantly to thank the man, but he was already half way down the corridor. He searched the corridor for another face, but to no avail. Deciding that he would draw more attention to himself standing alone, he walked into the classroom and tried to forget about his encounter.

* * *

><p>The moment JD entered the art room he wished he had stayed in the corridor. The teacher immediately called upon the new addition to the class. "I assume you are John," the teacher hissed. JD could only nod, the teacher looked terrifying, and dare he say it, <em>mad.<em>

"_I-"_ JD tried to mutter an apology but was cut off.

The teacher banged her ruler on the desk with immense force, making JD jump about three feet in the air. He could feel every pair of eyes in the classroom upon him. The tension that had filled the room seemed to snap the moment the teacher burst into laughter. She finally got her breath back and stared at the new boy apologetically.

"I'm so sorry; we always torture the new kids. Just take a seat and start the objective that I've written on the board."

JD shuffled to his seat, keeping his head low to avoid anybody noticing how red his face was. He needn't worried; everybody had returned to what they had previously been doing before he had entered. Once settled, JD squinted at the board and read the objective.

_Draw what you're thinking of right now._

JD tapped his fingers against his lower lip. What would be a good thing to draw? What exactly was he thinking about? _Oh! I got it!_

A loud ear piercing whistle penetrated JD's daydream. JD snapped his head to the left. Sitting right next to him was the copper haired boy.


	4. Four

Perry and Ben took their places next to each other and glanced at the objective on the board.

_Draw what you're thinking of right now._

Ben looked thoughtful for a second and then smiled to himself. He easily got to work drawing what was on his mind. Perry, however, was finding the task a little more difficult. Right at that moment he was thinking about the new kid, and he couldn't draw _that_ thought, right? It only took him a split second to come up with something else. He grinned crookedly as he started work on his drawing of Mr. Kelso with devil horns and a tail. The boys chatted aimlessly until the classroom door opened, distracting them both.

Perry inwardly groaned when he saw the new arrival. It was newbie, looking as nervous as always. Perry smirked and rolled his eyes when the teacher slammed her ruler on the desk. The kid looked terrified, and he was really asking for it.

"Girl," Perry muttered. It was quiet enough to remain out of the teacher's earshot, but to Ben it was as clear as day.

Ben chuckled. "Be nice."

Perry rolled his eyes again and gave his friend a stern look. Why should he give the kid a break? The kid needs to toughen up, and what better than for him to knock some sense into the kid rather than someone who could actually do him some serious damage? Then again, he could really hurt him if he tried. Perry shook his head, brandishing those thoughts. It was hard being the new kid; maybe he should be a little easy on the guy.

The younger male took the seat to him. He was staring intently at the board, deciding what to draw. Perry looked away, losing interest in what the boy was doing. Then there was a noise... It was soft and had a slight melody to it. Perry squinted and strained his ears, sighing in annoyed disbelief that the kid had to cheek to hum. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, NO! He could not stand for this. Perry turned his head slightly and let out an ear piercing whistle.

The new kid snapped his head to the left, evidently confused. Perry flicked his nose and folded his arms across his chest. The kid had no idea what was coming.

"What, in God's name are you singing, Carol? No, don't answer. I _know_ that humming and singing are just oh-so different, but your happy go lucky melody is just so darn annoying. I guess you don't this because you're the newbie here, BUT high school is _nawt_ fun. And I'm so sorry that I've just gone and crushed your fantasy about that one perfect guy who's gonna meet you here and put a ring on your finger before you go and live happily ever after." The younger male suddenly went pale, but Perry continued. "Then again, if I don't then who will? Your little girlfriends won't because they want the same exact thing and your mommy doesn't want to crush what little self esteem you have that keeps you from raiding the bathroom cabinet and slicing up those skinny wrists of yours."

Perry stared at the younger male intently. His eyes were wide, and mouth open as if he was going to say something but no words came out. He looked terrified. Maybe he went just a _little_ too far.

Ben leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear. "_Niiiiice_, you broke him." Ben laughed as Perry sighed in frustration. "So much for being nice."

Perry hissed. "Look, Newbie. Suck it up and stop humming."

JD nodded silently and went back to his work, consciously making sure no sound even tried to escape his lips.

Perry turned back to look at Ben, who was smirking at him. "Oh, shut up."

As they were working, Perry remembered something and paused. "What did you do with those photos?"

"I hid them in my locker. Last time Kelso found them he gave me detention," Ben sulked, eyes never leaving his masterpiece.

Perry raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"He said it was a distraction to the learning environment," Ben mocked, failing to impersonate the man in question.

Perry snorted. "That stupid old goat, it's not like we're paying attention anyway."

"I guess that's just Kelso for you," Ben sighed.

"I wonder how he hides his horns. Sure, he can put away the pitch fork, but isn't the Devil supposed to come with head boobs and a tail?"

"I think he seems nice."

Both boys paused and turned to look at JD. They were looking at him as though he had seven heads. They shared a quick glance at each other and suddenly burst out laughing. JD stared at them, but soon felt himself getting a little angry. "Why are you laughing?"

Ben was first to calm himself enough to talk. "You actually think our principle is a _nice_ guy?"

JD nodded, not sure why it was so funny. Perry finally calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry, Newbie; but I think someone who's been here for three years knows a little more than someone who's just arrived at this dump."

"But he seemed so nice-"

"Exactly, Newbie. He _seemed_ nice. Even I have to admit he can hide it well, but come on. You're just too new and naive to get these things."

"Well, then who- wait..." JD paused. "Newbie?"

Perry scoffed. "You're new here, hence the nickname Newbie." Perry stretched the name out as if he were speaking to a child. In a weird way it felt like he was, and he suddenly found himself with an uncomfortable feeling in his gut.

"Oh, I get a nickname?" JD exclaimed excitedly.

It was strange to see somebody get so excited over a measly nickname, and one that _he_ had given out more to the point.

"Oh, hold your horses, Bethany. This is not a pet name." Perry smirked and narrowed his eyes. "It's just so I don't have to bother learning your real name."

"Wait, you said it was Newbie. Why'd you call me Bethany?" JD was getting more confused by the second.

"Let's see." Perry tilted his head to the side and pretended to think, before motioning to say he'd thought of an idea. "Maybe," he mocked JD's excitement. "It's because I thought you were a girl and Bethany just sounded like a very pretty name, don't cha think?" With that, Perry rolled his eyes and went back to work.

JD pouted at the new nickname, but he didn't exactly hate it. Instead, he found that there was a warm, fuzzy feeling at the pit of his stomach.

'He gave me a nickname.'

_He gives everyone a nickname._

'It's almost like a pet name.'

_But you got it from a guy. Aren't girls supposed to get pet names?_

'Oh, shut up brain! I like it.'

_Speaking of names, you don't even know his._

'...Crap! I completely forgot!'

JD turned to the other boy. "Hey, what's your..." He was cut off by the bell. The copper haired boy didn't acknowledge him, instead jumping from his seat and forcing his way through the crowd of people heading for the door. Even the teacher was trying to make a quick getaway. "Name?" JD sighed as his question was lost in the noise and turned his attention back to his drawing. He didn't even get to start. Frustrated, he banged his head on the desk. He repeated this motion until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up to find another boy standing over him. _Ben?_

"It's ok; most first days are a little stressful." Ben smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks." JD returned the smile. "I'm John, but you can call me JD."

"I'm Ben." The taller boy smiled before quickly grabbing his camera and taking a photo. JD rubbed his eyes frantically, trying to make the dots disappear.

"Why'd you do that?" JD asked curiously.

"Well, a photo captures a moment in time and I like memories." Ben put the camera safely away and turned to face the smaller male.

"No, I mean why do you take pictures when people don't expect them?"

Ben smiled again. "I never liked posed photos. They always seem so fake, you know. When someone doesn't expect they look natural.

"Oh, that makes sense." JD followed Ben out of the door and into the crowded hallway. They walked in silence until JD finally decided to break the silence. "What's with that guy?"

"Him?" Ben pointed to somebody next to him and turned to face JD questioningly. "Well, I don't know him that well so I'm not really sure."

JD laughed at Ben's innocence. "No, I mean the guy with the curly hair, who is always with you?"

"Oh, him!" Ben rolled his eyes and nudged JD in the arm. "Why didn't you just say?" Ben laughed at the expression on JD's face but humoured him nonetheless. "Nothing, really. He just has a little temper, but not to worry. He's harmless, really."

JD looked at Ben and was surprised by his expression. It appeared sad and distant. Even though he had only met Ben today, he couldn't help but notice the feeling that told him that this was a rare occurrence.

"Ben?" JD asked softly. It was barely above a whisper, but it still seemed enough to pull the senior out of his thoughts. Ben stopped walking and looked at JD with a serious expression planted on his features. JD paused.

"JD, I want you try and get close to him. He needs somebody in his life."

"Ben..."

"And I want you to promise me something."

"Sure, what?"

"Whatever you do, don't hurt him."

"Ben why-"

"Promise me."

"...I promise"

"Good." Ben grinned. "Now I have to get to my locker, see you around!" Ben ran off in the opposite direction, leaving JD speechless.

"Yeah, bye." he muttered to nobody in particular and trudged off towards his own locker.

'Would you believe that, it's my first and I've already managed to make some new friends. Turk's group are really friendly and Ben is sure that I'm the right person to befriend what's his name... Damn it!'

_You forgot to ask his name. Good job._

'Damn, well at least I didn't make a complete fool of myself.'

When he arrived at his locker, he was disturbed by a loud whistle. He looked over his shoulder met the piercing gaze of the Janitor. JD gulped when he saw the man hold up a penny, a look of disgust on his face. JD continued to stare at the menacing custodian. He shifted on his feet and took a step forward. JD immediately forgot about his books and ran the other way.

He took a quick glance back to make sure that he wasn't being followed, but soon realised that that was a huge mistake. A door opened right in front of him and he walked straight into it. He fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. He blacked out.

Perry stared at the kid on the floor. He was lying awkwardly and had a cut on his head. "God damn it, Newbie." Perry mumbled. He had to admit he didn't like the kid, but he couldn't just leave him there. It was his fault the kid had got hurt in the first place. Maybe it'll teach the boy to stop running around like a complete idiot. Perry groaned and approach the kid slowly, before picking him up, amazed by how light he actually was.

Once he had arrived at the Nurse's office he dropped the kid onto an empty bed and started to examine his cut. It wasn't that deep, but was still bleeding. He grabbed a towel off the side and started to gently clean out the cut. He then wrapped the younger male's head in gauze. His hand accidently brushed the boy's hair. It was soft to the touch and Perry absent mindedly let his hand wander and comb through it. It definitely wasn't as greasy as it looked from a distance. Feeling stupid, he tore his hand away and decided to leave. Whoever was on duty would find him, and he wouldn't have to worry about being caught petting the new boy.

He walked briskly out of the Nurse's office unaware of the pair of eyes watching him leave. Whilst he was walking away, he couldn't help but bring his fingers to his nose. They smelt of coconut. It really shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did.

"Stupid, Newbie."


	5. Five

JD shifted slightly. He felt as if there was a war going on inside his head. He let out a low groan as he tried to open his eyes, promptly shutting them again as the harshness of the light tried to blind him. After a few attempts, he successfully managed to keep them open and turned his head slightly to observe his surroundings. He could have sworn he was still at school, so why was he laying on something so soft? He noticed beds either side of him and leant his head back onto the pillows so that he was staring straight at the ceiling.

"Hello?" He called out uncertainly to the empty room.

"Oh, you're awake." A Latina woman approached his bedside. She had brown curly hair that matched her dark brown eyes. She gave JD a friendly smile. She looked a good few years older than him.

"How are you feeling?"

JD smiled warmly back but let out a groan as his hand shot to try and sooth the pain in his head. "Uh, good. My head hurts a little though." He winced and gritted his teeth to try and block out the pain.

"That'll happen when you decide to run into a door." The woman chuckled loudly before stepping over him and starting to check his vitals.

JD scoffed. "I didn't run into the door, the door ran into me!"

She laughed loudly. "Whatever you say." She then left his side to start flipping through the files in the cabinet. She turned back to him and gave him a questioning look. "I don't think I've ever seen you around here. What's your name?"

"I'm new here." JD paused as the Latina woman approached him once more and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm John Dorian, but everyone calls me JD."

She kept her hand on his and manoeuvred herself so she was sitting on the edge of his bed. "I'm Carla." She smiled. "How are you finding it here?"

"It's nice." JD nodded his head. "Except the Janitor-" JD shuddered at the thought. "Oh, and there's this kid..."

Carla's curiosity was pricked. "What's their name?"

JD shrugged. "I don't know, but he's really scary and goes off on these really long rants."

"He has curly copper hair, green eyes and an amazing body?" Carla added, winking at him.

"Yes!" JD exclaimed a little too quickly. His hand flew to cover his mouth and a small blush covered his cheeks. "No, I mean yes, I mean, it's not like I noticed or anything he just-"

"Relax, it's OK." Carla grinned. "His name is Percival Cox, but don't ever call him that or he'll get really mad. Most people just call him Perry, although he makes the freshman call him Dr. Cox, but I think that it's just so he feels respected."

"Thanks, I've been trying to figure out his name all day!" JD smiled, but it soon disappeared as another thought entered his head. "Wait," he started slowly. "How did you know who I was talking about?"

"This isn't a huge school, Bambi. Almost everybody knows at least the first name of everybody else. That means that new kids tend to stick out like sore thumbs." Carla gave JD a sympathetic smile.

JD huffed. "Great."

"But the main reason I knew is because I'm his friend and I saw him leave you here earlier on."

The look on JD's face was priceless. "_He_ was the one that brought me here?"

"Yup." Carla smiled at him knowingly.

JD looked around the room again. "Hey, where is here anyway?"

Carla rolled her eyes. "Right, you're new here. You're in the Nurse's office."

JD flashed the girl a cheeky smile. "Aren't you a little young to be a Nurse?"

"The Nurse's office is run by the students," Carla started to explain, smiling at the compliment nonetheless. "A senior is picked to the school Nurse for a day."

"You're a senior?" JD burrowed his brow.

"No, I'm a junior."

JD nodded his head, but still didn't understand.

"Then why are you the nurse?"

Carla stared at the boy. He asked so many questions. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"There are certain exceptions. If the selected student is absent then a high honour student is selected instead. They could be from any grade as long as they're really good."

"Oh, so you're a high honour student?"

"Yeah," Carla nodded.

"So, what field are you in?"

"Nursing," Carla answered the question anyway, even though she thought it was already a little obvious.

"That's great." JD seemed genuinely interested.

"And you?"

"Doctor," JD announced proudly.

"Oh, so you're in Perry's class?"

JD's face turned pink. He kept glancing around the room, finding interesting in anything that wasn't the Latina Nurse. "Yeah, he's there. Uh, but it's not like I care or anything..."

_I know what you're thinking, and I'm going to go right out and say it. No, I'm not in love. Yes, perhaps it does seem that way with all the stuttering and blushing, but I can promise you, I'm not in love. Well, not yet anyway. Do you really think that we're just going to hook up like that? I mean, he doesn't even know my name! If you mentally nodded to what I just asked you then I have something else that you might want to answer. Do you actually think the moment a gay guy sees another guy that he automatically starts singling him out from the crowd? No. I know that people are a sucker for romance, and I am too, but come on, this is real life we're talking about. What do you think this is? A story...? Anyway, at this moment in time I didn't even know I was gay, so don't go jumping ahead of me._

"Sure you don't," she retorted, rolling her eyes. Carla suddenly jumped off the bed. "Right, I need to make a file for you." She made her way towards the filing cabinet and pulled out a new file and a form. She handed the form to JD along with a pencil. "While I write an accident report, you need to fill that out."

JD nodded and stared at the form for a few moments before hesitantly putting pencil to paper. It was pretty basic, asking after allergies and family histories etc. After he was done, Carla excused him and saw him to the door. "Hey, Bambi. What lunch are you?"

"Lunch A," he answered slowly, mentally making sure that he was actually on that lunch break.

"I'm in the same lunch, maybe you can swing by my table or I could come over to yours?" She asked happily, squeezing his shoulder.

"That'd be fun."JD smiled back.

She looked at her watch and gently pushed JD out of the doorway.

"Today's over so I'm leaving you now," she locked the Nurse's office before giving JD one last smile and stalking off down the corridor.

JD waved the Nurse off when he remembered something that he had wanted to ask her. "How can I get Perry to not hate me?" He shouted after her retreating figure.

"Hang out and just be yourself," she called back without turning to look at him.

"How do I hang out with him?"

"Join a club!"

"How's that going to help?"

Carla didn't answer him that time. She just waved goodbye. JD sighed and headed for his locker. After emptying various bits and pieces into his bag he flung it over his shoulder and slammed his locker shut. He knew without even glancing at his watch that he had missed the school bus and the late bus. He headed towards the exit and sighed loudly. "This is gonna be a long walk."

* * *

><p>On the bus home Ben showed Perry all the photographs that he had taken that day. It had become routine, deciding what snaps to keep or eliminate on the ride home. They laughed at some of the funny shots and tried to figure out exactly what other ones were. Ben had come to the conclusion that his finger had slipped several times, but Perry knew there were times when Ben knew exactly what he was doing.<p>

Perry clapped his hand on Ben's back when the bus pulled over. Ben gave him a reassuring smile and moved to allow Perry to get off. Perry waited for the bus to drive off into the distance before tightening the grip on his bag and walking up the front path of his house. He entered the house cautiously and was greeted by silence. He placed his bag down carefully in the hall and hesitantly approached the living room; the last thing he wanted was to provoke something unnecessary. Oh, too late. Perry hissed in pain as his entrance was greeted by a beer bottle being thrown into the side of his head.

"How was school, you little shit?" His father slurred, leaning forward slightly to inspect his son further.

Perry bit his tongue and remained silent. The less he said, the better it would be for him.

His father growled in annoyance. "What? Can't even say hello to your old man?"

Perry still remained silent, wincing as he touched his hand to his head to find blood dripping off the edge of his fingers when he pulled away. His heart started pounding furiously in his chest as he watched his father slowly rise from the couch, shooting his mother with a pleading look before she quickly picked up a magazine off the side and pretended to read it.

He knew what was coming next, but the sudden fist in his gut came as a bit of a surprise. He doubled over and fell to the ground. He didn't have time to catch his breath before a boot repeatedly connected roughly with his ribcage. Perry gasped and tried to curl himself into the foetal position, but the older man sensed this and smashed another empty beer bottle over his head again.

"Get up! His father hissed, staring over his son's cowering form on the floor. Perry tried not to focus on the pain, but his vision was getting blurry and he didn't trust himself to try and stand. The older man grabbed his arm and forcefully yanked his son to his feet. He then violently dragged the boy to his room and threw him in, ignoring the loud yelp of pain as Perry crashed into the side of his bed. The door slammed shut and Perry finally let out a shaky breath. It was over for another day.

He would never admit it to Paige, but Perry was thankful that the school system meant that he got home before his sister. She'd escape their father's wrath because he'd be worn out from his ordeal with Perry. It was painful to endure, but he could take it if he knew his little sister got out of it.

Perry heard the front door slam shut and groaned. His bedroom door opened slowly and Perry winced as he propped himself up against the edge of his bed. He forced a smile on his face as he watched his sister hesitantly pop her head around the door before opening it enough to she could squeeze in and shut it firmly behind her. She smiled sympathetically at her brother and dropped her bag on the floor. She walked across the room and picked up the first aid kit she had bought for Perry and took her place beside him.

"You have to be more careful with him," she said softly as she lifted his shirt up to inspect the damage.

"Yeah, yeah." Perry rolled his eyes and let out a yelp as Paige touched a tender spot on his stomach. He never told her why he got hurt so often. He felt it was easier for everybody if she believed it was because of her crazy belief in God and all that nonsense.

"You know, if you prayed and had faith in the man in the sky then you can have prevented this," she muttered solemnly.

Perry rolled his eyes once more and smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure the G man controls that bastard's drinking."

Paige glared at her brother, but focused her attention to the wound on his head. "So, how was school?"

"It was fine," Perry grumbled."There was a new kid."

Paige smirked and started to clean the blood out of Perry's hair. "Did you make a new friend?"

"No," Perry growled. "She's fidgety, girly, talks way too much, dunks her head in a bucket of product every day, _and _she daydreams in the middle of class and always looks like she's a little scared puppy."

Paige paused what she was doing and pursed her lips in a thin smile. "You like her."

"What?" Perry exclaimed for the second time that day. It was only he realised that he had been referring to the new kid as a girl. He dismissed the thought that it was strange he hadn't noticed. "No way!"

Paige sighed and stuck a huge plastic over the cut on Perry's head. "Alright, I get that you don't like Jordan anymore but just watch it with this one."

Perry knew he should say something. After all, it wasn't right to just make somebody up so that his sister would back off about Jordan... Hmm, then again. "Sure."

"What's her name?"

"Umm," Perry smiled triumphantly. "Her name is Janette."

"Oh, pretty name," she smiled.

"Yeah, it is isn't it?" Perry whispered, not caring if Paige heard or not.

* * *

><p>By the time JD arrived home he was exhausted to the bone and it was already getting dark. After inspecting his watch, he groaned to find that it had already passed seven o'clock. He thrust his key into the lock and turned it to the left, letting out a huge sigh of relief as he stepped over the threshold into his home, and closed the door swiftly behind him. His relief, however, was short-lived as he was immediately tackled to the ground the moment he dropped his bag on the floor. He groaned loudly and stared at his brother.<p>

"Dan, what's-"

"Where have you been?" Dan demanded, pinning JD's arms behind his head so he couldn't wriggle free.

"I- I was just-"

Dan cut him off as he suddenly released JD's arms so he could feel over the bandage around JD's head.

"Johnny, what happened?" Dan's eyes were wide.

"I ran into a door," JD answered tiredly. "Can you please get off of me?" JD attempted to push his brother off, but to no avail.

Dan stared at him for a few more moments before nodding slowly and rolling off his brother. He jumped quickly to his feet and held out both of his hands for JD to take.

"Mom was going on a date tonight," Dan started to explain, putting his arm protectively around JD's shoulders. "But she didn't want to leave until you'd got home. She was worried about you, little brother. You didn't even call!"

JD sighed and reluctantly walked further into the house. Upon entering the living area, he was once again in the clutches of a crushing hug.

"Johnny!" His mother cried as she clung to him. He could smell the liquor on her breath. "I've been so worried about you!" When she pulled away JD silently gasped. Her eyeliner had smeared and her lipstick was barely there. The alcohol probably hadn't helped her cause.

JD hung his head. "Sorry, mom." He looked back up to find his mother smiling at him. She kissed him on the head and released him from her grasp.

He watched her walk away and for the first time noticed that her date was standing patiently by the lamp stand.

His mother kissed her date gently. "Just a moment, love. Let me fix myself up." She left the living area and started climbing the stairs towards her room. He heard her shout after his brother. "Dan, where's my lipstick?"

Dan rolled his eyes and caught up with his mother at the top of the stairs. JD and his mother's date were left alone. Smiling at the man, JD turned to close the living room door. The moment it closed he felt himself being pushed into it. "Wha-"

The man pushed JD harder into the wood. "You shouldn't make pretty ladies wait kid, it's rude." The man's voice was low, and JD gulped audibly.

"I didn't-"

The man growled. "If you ever make her cry again, I'm gonna make you sorry." The man lifted his knee into JD's back, his hands worming their way around the younger boy's neck.

JD tried to scream, but with every sound that he managed to gasp, the tighter the grip on his neck would get. He let out a strangled plea; he was on the verge of passing out. After what seemed like an age, the man let go of JD's neck but didn't remove his knee. JD gasped desperately for air, his body getter weaker by the second. Before he knew what was happening, the man had removed his knee and grabbed JD by the arm, dragging him toward the couch. He threw him down and shot the boy a wicked smile.

He leant in menacingly close to JD's face. "Like, I said-" the man whispered harshly. "-If you _ever _make her cry again, I'm gonna make you pay." His eyes swept over the boy once more before he backed away and straightened himself up. Both heads snapped to the door as they heard it creak on its hinges.

"Little bro?" Dan was quickly at his brother's side. "Are you OK? What happened?" Dan turned his attention to the stranger, waiting for answers.

"""He just collapsed, probably because of that head injury." The man shrugged, shooting the boys a rather impressive sympathetic look.

"Johnny, you're studying medicine. You should know not to push yourself."

"Medicine?" The older man asked, surprised. "Well-" he smirked. "That sounds interesting."

"You ready, Mike?" Their mom called from the hallway, poking her head around the door to make sure that he had heard her. God, she looked beautiful.

"Wow, you look lovely." Mike gushed, smiling as he took of her hand and led her towards the front door. The two boys heard the door open and slam close. JD sighed and buried his head further into the couch cushion. That was fun. _Not._


	6. Six

Perry awoke with a groan. His body hurt like hell; that drunken bastard had decided to have more fun and games after dinner. He hissed in pain as his body protested against its movement. Clenching his jaw tight, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and began his morning routine.

He opened up his wardrobe and grabbed the nearest pair of jeans. He went to pull his shirt over his head when he suddenly noticed the marks and bruises that covered his torso. He winced slightly at their colour. Most of them were purple, but some looked deadly dark. He took a deep breath before pulling his shirt down and grabbing his shoes. Once they were on, he picked up his backpack and quietly crept downstairs.

* * *

><p>JD's eyes fluttered open, the light that managed to work its way around his blind the only thing enabling him to see. He got up slowly, groaning at how asleep his body still appeared to be. His neck felt incredibly sore; maybe he'd just slept a bit funny. He went to rub his fingers through his hair when something seemed to be blocking his hand from progressing any further. JD groaned even louder when he remembered what had occurred yesterday at school.<p>

He crept slowly to the mirror; careful not to wake anybody else who may still be sleeping. He removed the bandage from around his head carefully and tilted it so he could examine the cut. It looked a lot better than it did yesterday, but it still needed to be covered. He leant over toward his desk, grabbing the box of plaster's (band aid's) that he had placed there the night before. The first plaster had a very happy Hello Kitty on the front. He rolled his eyes; his mother never did have good taste in designs. He dropped that one on the floor and rummaged around in the box until he found one that he liked. He eventually pulled out a rainbow coloured plaster that had a unicorn on it. _Perfect._ He smiled to himself and slapped it on.

JD was about to turn away and start getting dressed when the light reflecting off the mirror caught the side of his neck. Upon further inspection he noticed that there were dark hand marks bruised into the skin. He frowned, before groaning (again!) in remembrance of what had occurred the previous evening. He sighed before placing the plaster box back on his desk and turned towards his chest of drawers, searching for the turtle neck he was so sure that he had. He punched the air in mock triumph when he located the item of clothing and quickly slipped it on over his head. After a few moments of relative calm, he started grimacing at the itchiness. 'Why would anyone wear something so uncomfortable?'

_There was a boy and a girl trapped on an island, surrounded by turtles. The girl looked desperately towards the boy, backing further and further towards where the boy was standing. _

"_How are we going to get out of this mess?" The girl cried hysterically, frantically scanning the area for a means of escape._

_The boy thought for a moment before pointing his finger in the air. _

"_I know!" He exclaimed excitedly. He pulled out two turtle necks from his rucksack and handed one quickly to the girl. "Wear this!"_

_She looked at what the boy had given her and opened her mouth in realisation._

"_We can't put this on!" She warned him. "You know what will happen!"_

_The boy looked at her pleadingly. "We don't have a choice!" He shouted urgently. "We must become one of them!"_

_They nodded at each other and threw on the garments. The moment the clothing connected with skin they became the Turtle people. _

He inspected himself in the mirror again, deciding whether he really wanted to transform into a turtle person for the day. As he continued to debate his choice of dress, a shrill voice resounded up the stairs. "Hurry up or you're going to be late!"

Sighing loudly, JD quickly pulled on a pair of pants and fixed up his hair, grinning broadly to himself in the mirror once he was satisfied with the style. He raced down the stairs and stopped abruptly when he saw the scene playing out in front of him in the kitchen. His mother was making breakfast, smiling and listening intently as Dan was going on and on about his school work. It was strange to see his mother up and awake at this time of morning. He was about to question it when he movement to the side of his brother alerted him to another body at the table. Mike.

"Hey, kiddo." Mike smiled sickeningly at the boy entering the kitchen.

JD watched the older man for a few moments, inwardly recoiling at the realisation that the man was his dad's old robe. It was the one he had forgotten to take after the divorce.

It almost looked like a perfect family. Almost. JD frowned and took his place at the table. 'Who does he think he is; trying to take dad's place and wear his things? Kick him!' JD ignored his screaming brain and smiled at Dan before licking his lips and getting tucked into the food on the table.

"So, how did you kid's sleep?" The man enquired, casually biting on a piece of toast.

"Great," Dan mumbled through a mouthful of food.

JD stared at his plate. "Fine."

"That's great," the man replied cheerily. JD didn't buy the nice act, but he could see his mom smiling.

"You're so great with kids," she whispered dreamily.

JD chewed on his food quickly, cursing his mother silently for jumping into new relationships so quickly.

"Alight guys, time for school." Mike placed his knife and fork in the centre of his plate and pushed his chair away from the table. He grabbed the pre-made lunches off the kitchen side and handed them to the two boys as he walked them out of the door.

JD looked back to make sure that Mike had closed the front door and then turned back to his brother. "Do you think Mike is, you know, a little... weird?"

Dan eyed his brother up suspiciously but humoured him anyway. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't like him."

Dan gave JD a funny sideways look and snorted.

"It doesn't really matter what you think, little bro. He makes mom happy and you know lonely she's been getting lately.

JD sighed and heaved his backpack further up his back, clinging to the shoulder straps tightly. "Means we'll have to stick it out for her, right?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah, through wedding bells and what not!"

Dan laughed at the look of outrage on JD's face.

"Wait, you don't actually think they'd get married do you?"

Dan shrugged and stopped walking. "So what if they do. Remember what you said."

He shot his brother one final warning look before walking off in the direction of his bus stop.

* * *

><p>JD had met up with Turk and Elliot on the bus and they were currently discussing school clubs as they decided what ones they should join. Turk had quickly scribbled his name on the basketball signup sheet whilst Elliot had opted to join the band. JD looked at all of the sheets remembering what Carla had told him the afternoon before.<p>

_"How do I hang out with him?"_

_"Join a club!"_

He grabbed the pen but stopped himself before he could write his name on anything. 'Why am I doing this? Why do I care if we even hang on, from what I hear he's a total jerk? Why would I want to befriend a guy like that, I barely know him!' JD put the pen back and followed his friends down the corridor.

* * *

><p>Perry took his seat in class and watched the remaining stragglers walk in and take their places. He watched as JD walked in. He didn't have anything wrapped around his head so he must be ok. The teacher waited for the hustle and bustle to calm before clearing her throat and demanding the class be quiet and pay attention. Once the class were settled, she brought out a big book from under her desk and flipped it open so she could inspect the contents page.<p>

"For the next few weeks you will be doing a project on a random disease with a partner of my choice."

She smiled when the class simultaneously groaned. Her eyes scanned the group greedily and she started picking out pairs, writing them down on a plain piece of paper for extra clarification.

"Doug and Hooch, you two will be doing Wilson's disease. Lonnie and Kim, I want you study Leukaemia. Elliot and Keith, you get a nice interesting one. Can you two take care of Foreign Accent Syndrome for me?"

JD's ears perked up at the latest pairing. He hadn't realised that Elliot and Doug were in his class. They hadn't mentioned it to him during their lunch breaks together. Maybe it was his fault that he hadn't noticed them before now.

The teacher looked around, once again looking for a new pair to torture. "Perry and," she muttered, still staring around the class for another student. "John," she smiled. "You'll be tackling Acute Intermittent Porphyria."

Perry's jaw dropped as he stared at his teacher. He inwardly groaned. Why, out of every single person in his class was _he_ the one that had to be paired up with Carrie?

The teacher continued to give instructions until the class was perfectly clear on what they had to do. Once the teacher had told them to get on with their work, JD stood from his seat and glared at the boy he was currently walking toward. Once seated next to his partner, he crossed his arms and just sat there.

Perry smirked at the younger boy's actions. "Well, well. Looks like Teresa has a bit of an attitude today."

JD opened his mouth to snap at the older boy, but quickly stopped himself. After all, he was the one who had dropped him off at the Nurse's office so he could receive help. Sighing, he sat himself up straight and uncrossed his arms. The guy couldn't be _that_ bad if he had helped him out, right?

Perry felt the boy next to him relax and he turned his head to inspect the younger male. His eyes caught something near the top of his head. Confused, Perry leant in a little for a closer look. What in the name of-? It was a unicorn plaster. A _rainbow_ coloured unicorn plaster. His eyebrows twitched in disbelief and frustration at JD's antics. Why the hell would he do that? It was like he was practically signing his own death warrant. For the love of God, the boy was fourteen; surely he'd have learnt to have left all the kid stuff behind by now?

"Newbie, why do you have a unicorn on your head?"

JD turned slightly pink and defensively patted his plaster. "Well, I-I took-"

"That's enough," Perry cut in. "I've stopped caring. You can do whatever you want to yourself, which, by the way, includes turning yourself into a giant target for all of the bullies out there. Just leave me out of it, ok princess?"

"Prince-?"

"Princess, I'm waiting for an answer." Perry interrupted impatiently.

JD mentally shook himself. "Sure."

"Good girl," Perry smirked. "Now, what'd ya say we get started on this stupid project so we don't have to spend any more time together than we already do, since I'm so sure you're dying to spend all of your free time with your gal pals. One last thing, Newbie." Perry held his hand up to maintain JD's attention. "If you say anything other than something work related then so help me, it'll be the last thing that ever comes of that girly trout of yours."

JD huffed. 'Not all that bad my ass.'

* * *

><p>JD walked down to the lunch hall with Turk and Elliot, excited that he was finally able to relax with his friends. Perry had been horrible to him for the entire lesson, and it had been plaguing his mind ever since. He hadn't told his friends what had happened and wasn't really sure he wanted to. Turk, in particular, would probably jump onto the table and do a full on rendition of the 'I told you so' dance. He didn't understand why Perry was so mean; he was only trying to help.<p>

"Are you ok, JD?" Elliot's voice broke JD away from his reverie.

"Huh?" JD stuttered. "Oh, yeah. Everything's fine." He gave Elliot a shaky smile and waved her off.

"Dude, you've been spacing out all day. What's up?" Turk patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Nothing worth worrying about, I promise." JD grinned and shook his head.

"Whatever you say," Turk sighed, removing his hand.

"Hey, Bambi!"

The trio turned their head to the source of the noise, JD's smile becoming increasingly genuine as he saw Carla jogging toward him. He waved at her and waited for her to catch them up.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, you want to sit at my table?" She smiled and inspected JD's friends. JD was about to accept her offer when he suddenly remembered who Carla sat with during her breaks. The last thing he wanted to do was sit with him during his free time.

"Actually, I don't think that would be the best idea," JD mumbled, frowning. Carla shot him a curious look, but softened as she recalled their previous conversation. She nodded slowly. "Alright," she smiled once more. "I'll come and sit with you today, but you should give him a chance. He's really not that bad."

JD waved the girl as she walked at her own pace towards the hall. He was pulled by his arm and forced to face his friends. JD couldn't help but laugh at the surprise etched on Turk's face.

"How do you know _her_?"

JD grinned and tapped the plaster on his head. "She was working in the Nurse's office after I ran into the door."

"She's the head cheerleader," Elliot added, her tone laced with awe.

"And she's so fiiiine!" Turk exclaimed. "I like her more than I like steak, and I loooove the steak!" Turk wiggled his eyebrows and punched his friend in the arm. "You know what I'm sayin'?"

"Oh, please!" Elliot snorted and rolled her eyes. "She isn't that great, although I do wish I had her hair."

"Whatever." Turk huffed, opening the doors to the hall and walking in.

"Hey, what did she mean by 'you should give him a chance'?" Elliot squealed with excitement. She loved gossip.

"Oh, nothing." JD lied. "Just forget about it." JD gave Elliot a look which made her drop the conversation and they were soon all seated around their lunch table. Carla was already seated with her lunch, and JD breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that was indeed alone, although it was soon replaced by a dull ache of disappointment.

Over lunch they laughed and talked about anything and everything. Turk finally got the introduction that he had long been waiting for, although Carla didn't appear to be too interested. Overall, JD couldn't help but smile. It had been a surprisingly nice break, Carla effortlessly fitting in, what with him and Elliot technically qualifying as 'geeks'.

After lunch they all went their separate ways and headed off to class. JD looked at his watch and cursed under his breath. He picked up his pace, unable to believe he was running so late. On the way, however, he slipped. For a brief moment he saw his leg fly into the air, before the ceiling lights blinded him and he came crashing back onto the floor, right into a puddle of dirty water. He groaned as he sat himself up, his shirt clinging to him. A tall man came into view and stood over him. The Janitor.

"Why?"

"What? Just because I'm the janitor it's my fault?" The taller man asked accusingly.

"No, that's not-"

The Janitor shoved his mop in JD's face. "I don't like you." The man gave his victim one last evil glare before walking away.

"Stupid Janitor," JD hissed quietly before getting to his feet and awkwardly walking to the Nurse's office for a clean change of clothes. Unluckily for JD, the only thing he was able to find was a plain white tee and blue shorts that came down to his knees. Still, it was better than nothing.

He quickly left the office, but soon found himself walking into Mr. Kelso's path. JD smiled. He always felt safe when Mr. Kelso was around. "Hey, Mr. Kelso."

Kelso eyed JD carefully, frowning as he took in what the younger boy was wearing. "Son, why are you wearing gym clothes?"

JD shuffled on his feet nervously. "I got a little wet so I had to change."

Kelso nodded and smiled. "Not to worry, sport. I understand."

"You do?" JD's body visibly sagged with relief. He couldn't have been the first person that this had happened to.

"Of course," Kelso smiled sweetly. He waited until the boy was relaxed before catching him off guard with a frightening look. "You're one of those punks that just love to pull jokes and cause a commotion."

JD opened his mouth in shock, but couldn't find his voice. All he could was shake his head wildly and hope Kelso got the message.

"Well, let me tell you something," Kelso continued dangerously. "You're just another brat to me. I can kick you out of this school any time that I feel like it. The minute you cause trouble you are out of here. Do I make myself clear?"

JD looked taken aback. He couldn't believe what his so called 'safety net' was saying. He managed to stutter out a small reply in amongst his shock and terror. "Crystal, sir."

"Good." The man's cheesy smile returned as he continued stalking down the corridor.

JD watched the man turn the corner before taking a deep breath and making another attempt to get to class.

During his lesson, all JD could think about was the way Kelso had been with him. Why would the principal of a high school have such a grudge against kids? It just didn't make any sense to him. The bell rang, and he quickly shoved all his belongings into his open backpack before zipping it shut, swinging it over his shoulder and pushing his way into the corridor with all the other students. 'If Kelso is the demon in this school, then who's the good guy?' The question had plagued JD's mind for a while now, and he was on a mental mission to find out who it was. He was so deep in thought about a superhero living in the book cupboards that he didn't notice the watchful eyes following his every move.

"Hey kid!" A voice shouted over the commotion. "You're new here, right?"

JD spun around to find a small group of seniors sizing him up. The one who had called him out was leant menacingly against the lockers, arms folded across his chest with a terrifying sneer planted on his face.

"Yeah, what of it?" JD muttered, fed up already of being singled out every time he was on the move.

"Well," the leader of the group started casually. "Since you're new here we thought we'd be nice and give you a proper greeting." The leader pushed himself away from the lockers and cracked his knuckles one by one. The seniors slowly approached JD, who by this point was visibly shaking and willing himself not to cry. The seniors were much taller and bigger than JD, and he knew that he didn't stand a chance against the jocks.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude." JD stuttered out an apology, backing away slightly from the approaching gang.

"Well, it's too late and you've hurt our feelings." The leader grabbed the collar of JD's shirt and brought him up to his height. "I think we should make you pay for hurting our feelings." The leader pulled his fist back and sneered again.

"Hey, knock it off!" An angry voice resounded through the corridor. All eyes snapped to the approaching student, including those of students who were not directly involved. Everybody in the corridor was now standing at the sides, watching every movement that was being made. It took a moment for JD to locate his saviour, but when he did his jaw dropped and he had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Or what?" One of the other seniors rolled his eyes and stood in front of the intruder. The leader, however, remained quiet. He appeared to be a little shaken by the interruption.

"You really want to know?" Perry smirked, cracking his knuckles. This seemed to work. Almost immediately, the others started backing way, the leader dropping JD onto the ground as he did so. He eyed Perry for a few moments before waving his head and signalling for his group to follow. With one last snarl, he spun on his heels and left.

JD quickly scrambled to his feet and straightened his clothes as his hero approached him. "You alright, kid?" Perry enquired, mentally scanning the boy for any obvious injuries.

JD nodded. He was about to utter thanks when he felt himself being flicked very hard in the ear.

"What were you thinking?" Perry hissed, standing awfully close to the younger boy. "I said I didn't care if you made yourself a target as long as you kept me out of it!"

JD pouted and tried to control his breathing, which had become increasingly shaky as the distance between the two shortened. "I didn't ask for your help," JD mumbled.

Perry laughed, and JD found that he was no longer as scared of the older male.

"Maybe not, but you sure as hell needed it."

JD smiled to himself. Maybe Carla was right, after all. Even if the kid acted like he didn't give a rats ass about anybody but himself, he still came across as really nice when it mattered most.

"Thanks," JD said softly. He smiled as he saw the light blush evident on Perry's cheeks.

"No problem, just don't think about making this a daily routine." The older male snarled at JD before walking away. JD watched the retreating figure, acknowledging the warm, fuzzy feeling that had settled in his stomach. He had found his good guy.


	7. Seven

**This chapter is dedicated to all of those who lost their lives during the 7/7 London bombings six years ago today, and all of the British troops that have fallen whilst fighting for our Country in Iraq and Afghanistan. On a day like today there is a need to honour our dead, and to be proud of everything our Countries have sacrificed and fought for. Rest in peace.**

JD wormed his way into the crowds, walking briskly toward the exit. The end of the day had finally approached, and he couldn't wait to finally get some fresh air and space away from everything. As he neared the double doors, something out of the corner of his caught his attention. He stopped and turned to face the source of his curiosity. It was the club bulletin that he had been looking at earlier in the day. He picked up the pencil attached to the board with string but hesitated as he scanned over the clubs and thought about what he was really doing. _Maybe hanging out with this guy isn't such a bad idea after all?_ His eyes stopped over the band club, but he quickly shook that one off as he realised Elliot had already signed up for it. Moving on, he smiled at the thought of being part of the book club, but realising he was probably already branded too much of a nerd, or a _girl_ for that matter, he bypassed that one too. Before he knew it, he was staring straight at the sports section, contemplating what one would appear most 'manly' and help him out. There were too many sports to choose from, and JD couldn't help but think they would all end up going the same way.

_Hockey..._

"_I'm ready, coach!" The eager boy shouted, his words muffled by his mouth guard. He was covered head to toe in padding, his stick held out in front of him, his grip so tight his knuckles were white. Somebody shot the puck in his direction. He held out his stick in weak defence, but against all odds, the puck ricocheted off his stick and into the air, breaking his helmet and hitting him right in the eye. He fell to the ground and let out a pathetic groan of pain and the teacher blew his whistle and shouted 'walk it off!'_

JD shook his head and grimaced at the hypothetical pain he had found himself in. He mentally crossed hockey off his list.

_Baseball..._

"_I'm ready, coach!" The eager boy shouted, wringing his hands around the base of the bat as he stood rigidly at the hitting line. The pitcher nodded in his direction before throwing the ball at the hitter. The boy swung, but hit only air. Confused, he looked back to the ball at the exact moment it was too close for him to move out of the way. He suddenly felt an excruciating pain in the right side of his face. His hand flew to his injured eye as he dropped his bat and fell to his news, groaning in pain as he did so. The teacher sighed loudly and shouted for him to 'walk it off!' _

JD shook his head once more and sighed loudly. Two sports down, not a single one he was good at. What about American football? All you had to do was catch the ball and run. He had to be good at that, right?

_ Football... _

"_I'm ready, coach!" The boy shouted, almost bouncing up and down from his excitement. The coach nodded to him and threw him the ball. He held his hands up for cover, afraid of being hit in the eye. Unexpectedly, the football landed straight into his hands. He grinned broadly and started jumping up and down in triumph. He heard his coach yell and was tackled to the ground by four macho jocks. He groaned in pain from underneath the pile of bodies. He shut his eyes painfully and sighed when he heard his coach yell 'walk it off!'_

JD winced and rubbed his face. Why did all sports end the same way? If only he didn't suck that much, maybe then he'd have more of a shot? He shrugged and opted not to sign up for sports. His eyes desperately looked for something that he was actually good at. What about theatre?

_Theatre..._

_The boy walked on stage and looked up at the stage castle. He gazed at the beautiful wonder on the balcony of the castle, or in other words, Juliet. Juliet came out from the shadows in her golden gown and looked down at the boy below._

"_O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?_

_Deny thy father and refuse thy name._

_Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love_

_And I'll no longer be a Capulet."_

_A skull came flying from the front of the audience and hit Juliet in the head, knocking off the actor's wig. JD froze as he realised his cover had been blown, and watched in horror as other members of the audience started pelting things at him until he fell from the balcony and onto the stage below. The objects kept hitting him until both him and his Romeo lay motionless surrounded by debris._

JD snapped back into reality and let the pencil slide out of his grip. He didn't fancy dying at the hands of a school club, so he reluctantly crossed theatre off his list. JD glanced at his watch and gasped, desperately trying to find something he could do before having to run and catch the bus. That's when he found it. Gymnastics! He had the balance of a tree and was as flexible as a rubber band. He quickly picked up the pencil again and jotted his name down without a second thought before running out of the doors to make sure he didn't miss the bus again.

As JD boarded the bus, breathless from his dedicated run, he was happily greeted by Turk.

"Dude, what happened to your shirt?" JD rolled his eyes at his friend's curiosity.

"The evil Janitor," JD sighed, laughing as Turk simply raised his eyebrows.

"Whatever you say man," Turk patted his friend on the shoulder.

JD took his seat next to Turk and told him about joining the Gymnastics club. After a while, Turk suddenly stopped talking and was staring intently at JD.

"What?" JD asked, eyeing up his friend nervously.

"Dude, what happened to your neck?"

JD felt his blood run cold as he quickly covered his neck. How could he have forgotten? He stuttered out a nervous reply. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Turk hesitated but sensed JD's uncomfort. "Alright."

There wasn't any real reason to worry; it was probably just punishment for being late home.

* * *

><p>The bus ride home seemed to take forever, and JD desperately tried to ignore the occasional glances Turk would send his way. By the time he arrived home he was glad to discover that Mike had already left. He walked into the living room and casually greeted his brother. Dan's gaze fell but upon JD as he eyed his clothes up suspiciously, but quickly pushed the matter aside.<p>

"Where's mom?" JD asked, just noticing that she didn't appear to be home either.

"Oh, her and Mike went out on another date?" Dan replied.

JD burrowed his brow in confusion. "It's only, like, five. Why have they gone on a date so early?"

"She's happy, right?" Dan protested, standing up to pat his brother on the back. "Who cares what the time is?"

JD nodded and pondered on what his brother had said. "I can't believe she's gone on another date," JD sighed. "She's going a little fast, don't you think?"

Dan scoffed. "She's head over heels for that guy, little brother."

"Alright." JD rolled his eyes and made to leave the living room. "Well, I'm gonna go do my homework in my room." He trudged upstairs to his room, ignoring everything that Dan was shouting up to him_. It's ok if she likes Mike; she actually seems to be happy for once. It's not like the whole choking incident is going to become a regular occurrence. _JD rubbed his bruised neck carefully. _At least, I hope not._

JD rolled his head slowly from side to side to try and loosen the stiffness that had been building up, before shrugging it off and grabbing his backpack. He had at least two hours worth of homework that he needed to complete, and it didn't look that difficult. He poured the contents of his bag over his desk and got to work.

**- Four hours later -**

JD groaned and threw his pencil down in frustration. This work was way too complicated for high school. It was only the beginning of the year too; surely it had to be a crime to hand out this much homework, especially on a Friday? He held his head his hands and moved his eyes to glance at the clock on his desk. It had just gone half past nine, why wasn't his mom home yet?

He decided to take a break and descended the stairs slowly. His brother's coat and shoe's had disappeared from by the front door, so JD could only assume that he had left whilst he had locked himself upstairs. When he thought about it, Dan had recently been spending a lot of time away from the house. JD reasoned that it was probably his way of dealing with his mom's new relationship. He strolled into the kitchen and pulled open various cupboard doors until he found something he could microwave and eat for his dinner. Pulling out a packet, he ripped open the top and shoved it into the microwave and set the timer. As he stood staring intently in the microwave at his food, he heard the door creak on its hinges and footsteps steadily make their way into the room. He straightened himself up and turned just in time to see Mike set his stumbling, clearly intoxicated mother into one of the kitchen chairs. She slurred something in Mike's general direction before resting her head on the kitchen table and passing out.

JD raised an eyebrow and watched his mother. She had always been a drinker, but he couldn't believe that she would drink that much whilst out with somebody who he assumed meant a lot to her. Mike watched JD watching his mother and cleared his throat.

"Hey, kiddo. Sorry about your mom. I think she had a little too much to drink."

JD nodded hesitantly, desperate to turn around and continue watching his food move inside the microwave. His eyes, however, were glued to Mike's face, last night's events still swimming in his head. As if by magic, Mike seemed to pick up on this. He walked slowly over to JD, smirking as JD backed himself into the kitchen counter. JD felt panic ripple through him as Mike continued to move closer.

"Look, I am sorry," Mike muttered, edging closer to JD still. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Sometimes, I just get a little angry." Mike was close enough for JD to smell his breath. It was tainted with alcohol.

Mike stopped a mere millimetre away from JD's body. "I think we should just put all of this behind us and make up." Mike was inches away from JD's face. Mike watched as JD tried not to look him in the face, his fear evident in both his posture and facial expression. Mike moved in close to JD's ear as if he was about to spill a ridiculously juicy secret. "Besides," he whispered harshly. "You're kind of cute, and sometimes your mom isn't all that, well, _satisfying_." Mike moved back a few inches to observe JD's reaction before snorting and leaving the room. JD waited until the man had completely disappeared before letting out a shaky breath, pulling the microwave door open to stop the bleeping and sliding to the floor.

Why didn't I do anything? What he did mean by satisfying? A chill went down his spine and suddenly he didn't feel all that hungry.

He slowly got back to his feet and closed the microwave door, his food left steaming on the plate. He wanted to do homework, anything to get his mind off what had just happened, but he just couldn't get over it. Eventually he gave up finding things to do and collapsed on his bed. He could try to dream the pain away.

* * *

><p>Perry arrived home, thankful that his father had to work. This meant that he wouldn't be home until early morning, and Perry would have a stress free evening and night ahead of him. The moment he stepped over the threshold and into his home he slammed the door shut and bounded up the stairs two at a time before racing into his room. Once in his room, he dropped his backpack on the floor and rushed to get changed into his sports gear. He loved going to the park to throw some hoops whenever he got the chance.<p>

He had just managed to get his fourth dunk in a row when he saw his sister approaching. "You know, if you always wear those shorts you'll never be able to produce children," she joked, grabbing the basketball out of her brother's still hands.

"I have you know they're not that tight," Perry snorted defiantly, showing her just how loose they actually were. Paige laughed and threw the ball effortlessly in the hoop from where she was stood.

"So, how's Janette?" She asked after retrieving the ball.

"Who's Jane...? Oh, she's fine." He muttered, silently cursing himself for forgetting _her_ name.

"That's good," Paige smiled, ignoring her brother's slip up. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"No!" Perry scoffed, a little too quickly. Paige raised her eyebrows. "In fact, I'd rather out the she devil." He folded his arms across his chest and stared intently at his sister.

"Then why don't you just talk to Jordan then?" Paige sighed, turning her head to stare at the figure approaching the hoops.

Perry turned to follow her line of vision and groaned loudly. "Did you invite her here?"

"You two need to talk," Paige responded defiantly, shooting the basketball into the hoop once more and running off to retrieve the ball.

"What do you want, devil woman?" Perry growled as the girl came and stood right by him.

"Nothing," Jordan chirped, playing with her hair. "I just came to tell you I want you back."

Perry rolled his eyes and made to stand opposite Jordan. "Ya done?"

Jordan sighed and mimicked Perry's stance. "Alright, I lied. I need a favour."

"And why would I help you?"

Jordan leant in close to Perry, her lips brushing his ear as she started to whisper. "If you don't, we'll never have sex again and we'll start _making love_."

Perry shuddered and backed away, snarling as he did so. "Fine."

Jordan smiled. She always won these games.

"Good, I need a date for the Halloween bash on Tuesday and I can't find anybody who fits my criteria."

"What, and I do?"

"No," Jordan scoffed. "But you'll do."

Perry turned his head to find his sister still playing with the basketball. She'd clearly set him up. He frowned and turned back to face the source of his sudden headache.

"Alright," he sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. "But this means nothing."

Jordan stuck out her hand and waited for Perry to shake it.

"Deal."

He watched as Jordan skipped over to where Paige was and slapped his forehead. Even after they had broken up they had continued certain aspects of their relationships. He knew it had been a stupid thing to do, but even he had to admit that sometimes he had needs. His mind suddenly jumped to the Halloween bash next weekend. What was the worst that could happen?


	8. Eight

**A/N: This is chapters eight and nine from the old story merged into one longer chapter as chapter eight was quite short and not worth posting on its own when I still had chapter nine to play with. For those who don't know, this means that the next chapter I post for this story will be 100% new and exclusive... Game on!**

For JD, the weekend hadn't been anything special. Turk had asked him and Elliot to go to the movies with him and although he wasn't a great fan of the film that Turk had chosen, he'd still had a pretty good time with his friends. He hadn't really dwelled too much on the afternoon out, but the way that Elliot kept shooting him glances from across the table, well, it made him a little nervous. Unfortunately still, JD's unfinished homework from Friday night still hadn't managed to complete itself, and he spent what was left of his Saturday night finishing it off so he could enjoy his Sunday to relax and lounge around the house all day. He had tried his best to forget about Mike, and was glad that his mom had been too busy with work over the weekend to go out with Mike or bring him home. Nothing would have been worse than having to spend whole days with the man.

* * *

><p>Perry's weekend appeared to be no different. He had hung out with Ben and Carla as much as he could in the hope that he wouldn't have to go home and he had had argued constantly with Jordan about the stupid Halloween ball that was in a few days time. Truth be told, Perry was glad to finally get back to school; the beatings from his father had gotten increasingly violent and school was becoming the only safe haven that he had left. Still, that aside, he was dreading Wednesday.<p>

* * *

><p>JD pulled his body weight up and huffed. Whoever said that gymnastics was easy had clearly never joined the club. He'd only been in his gear for the best part of ten minutes but his cheeks were already puffed out and bright red and sweat was dripping unflatteringly down his forehead. JD groaned. His teacher was a drill Sergeant and JD had the feeling he probably used to be a dictator of some sort. His past was irrelevant, because today he was just Mr. Farrell and JD was in a lot of pain!<p>

"_Get up, worm!"_

"_You call that a hand spring?"_

"_My grandma can do a better tumble!"_

"_That ain't no vault! In the war you had to vault 15 inches in the air just to get to the helicopter!"_

JD groaned inwardly as the insults continued. He was so tired and hadn't actually learnt anything new. JD was pretty sure that if the man was able to make everybody jump over the school then he wouldn't have hesitated giving the command. By the end of the session every bone and muscle in JD's body ached. Even amidst the pain, JD reasoned with himself that he joined the club for a specific purpose, yet he hadn't located the source of his desperate charade all day.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and grimaced at the pain. He made a slow start out of the hall and made a move towards where Turk would be. It wasn't long before his aching body was sent flying by a stray boot and he landed on the floor with a loud thud. JD groaned and tilted his head up to identify the owner of the boot. The Janitor glared down at the boy below him.

"You seem unhappy; I like that."

JD watched the Janitor round the corner long enough to notice Elliot skipping past him. It took Elliot a few moments to notice JD still on the floor, but she soon stopped and helped him to his feet, confusion and interest etched on her features.

"What happened?"

JD brushed down his clothes and readjusted his backpack before smiling at Elliot and making a move once more down the corridor.

"Gymnastics hurt," he laughed.

Elliot chose to drop the fact that she had found him in a crumpled heap on the floor and laughed along.

"Yeah, the teacher is a drill sergeant!" She rubbed JD's back. "Tough break."

They walked on in content silence until they reached the gym, and waited outside until Turk had finished. Turk gave a final dunk and raised his arms above his head in triumph.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" He boasted gleefully, stopping suddenly and running over to his friends the moment he spotted them.

"Are you quite done?" Elliot whined.

Turk grinned broadly and nodded his head. "Five to three," he squealed excitedly. He turned back to his friends and followed their lead out of the gym. JD walked with his friends lost in thought. Why hadn't he seen Perry? Carla had told him that would be the place to find him, right? Damn. He felt the crisp breeze fall over him as he entered the open space outside the school. His moment of calm was disrupted by a wave of angry yelling.

"What's that?" JD asked curious, his eyes darting around.

Turk shrugged and patted his friend on the shoulder. "It's probably the football team running late as per usual," Turk sighed.

Elliot started jumping and down with excitement. "Oh, let's go and watch!"

Turk let his hand linger on JD's shoulder as he turned to face Elliot. "Why?"

Elliot pouted at Turk's raised eyebrows. "You're only mad because the guy Carla used to date is on the team," she moaned defensively. "Oh, come on!" They're pretty good."

Elliot dragged Turk towards the field before he had time to mutter a protest. JD strolled behind them. Once they had got to the field they managed to find some seats on the bleachers. There were a few other people watching too, mainly girls swooning over the players on the pitch, but a few guys had turned up to check out the cheerleaders practise session.

JD didn't know much about sports, and if he really thought about it, he could probably admit he knew nothing at all. Even so, he still knew when somebody was good at it, and the players he was watching _were _really good. He liked number six especially, the quarterback. The guy could throw for America and catch every ball every time, but it wasn't just that that had caught JD's attention. No, the guy was HOT! JD thought it was weird, but somehow he couldn't keep his eyes off him.

When the game was over he almost gasped when he realised who he had been drooling over. He could recognise that curly, copper hair anywhere. He was drooling over Perry Cox! JD shook his head and desperately tried to brandish the thoughts that had been forming. He stood suddenly and made a quick getaway from the bleachers. His friends noticed and tried to keep up with him, unaware of the eyes that were following them.

* * *

><p>Perry ran past the line and made yet another touchdown. He smiled and held his fists up in triumph. He loved football; especially since he was so good at it. He loved the cool crisp air, the warm sunshine and the cheering girls who just couldn't help but love his stunning body. Something about today felt a different, but he couldn't quite figure out how. The entire time he had been playing he had felt a new pair of eyes on him. It shouldn't have bothered him, hell he had hundreds of eyes on him, but this pair made his stomach do somersaults.<p>

He took off his helmet to cool off after his session. He wiped his forehead with his arm and turned towards the bleachers. He looked up at the crowd, but didn't see anybody that stuck out. As his other teammates came over to congratulate him he shook off the feeling and followed after his friends.

* * *

><p>After Perry had washed off and dressed, he raced out to the catch the bus. If he missed it, the beating his sister would get would be unspeakable. He slid across the grass as he desperately tried to stop himself running too far. Much to his relief, he made it to the bus on time. He sighed in relief and slumped into the first seat that he could find. Glancing to the side, he inwardly groaned. "Susie, I swear if you so much as breathe in my space I will rip your head off."<p>

The boy turned to face his company in offence. "I didn't say anything!"

Perry rolled his eyes. "Now, now. Susie, what did I just say?"

"But-!"

"Susie!"

JD pouted and turned around to face his friends, who were sitting behind him. Turk leant forward to engage JD in a private conversation. "Don't worry about him, V bear," Turk whispered. "He can be a total ass."

Elliot smiled and leant her head in to join in the conversation. "Yeah, you're better off just ignoring him."

They spent the remainder of the time joking and jesting before Turk jumped off at the first stop. Elliot stared contently out of the window for a little while whilst JD tried his hardest not to peek a look at the boy sitting next to him. The bus driver suddenly made a sharp turn to avoid a car, and without a seat belt and his hands in supporting positions, he hit his head on the window before falling to the right and into somebody's lap. Everything went black.

Perry stared ahead out of the front window, lost in thought, when the bus suddenly made a sharp turn. His body jolted forward but he quickly recovered and leant himself back as far as he could into his seat. A dull thump and the feeling of something heavy falling into his lap caused him to suddenly drop his gaze.

"Newbie!"

A bright blush spread across his cheeks as he tried to move the boy off him. That's when he noticed something frightening. JD's body was limp and he wasn't responding.

"Newbie?" Perry tried again, but got no response.

Perry could hear his heart hammering in his chest as he began to check for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he located a steady heartbeat; he was ok, just unconscious. God damn it, Newbie. You really have to stop doing this before I end up having a heart attack!

He shifted the younger boy into his arms and moved him into the other seat. "I believe _this_ belongs to you?"

Elliot gasped and moved so she could take JD from his arms. She tried to wake him for a few minutes, and smiled as her attempts slowly become successful. His eyes started to slowly flutter open, and Perry couldn't help but notice how beautiful the movement was. He shook his head, furious. There was nothing beautiful about this situation. JD had just woken after taking a knock to head. Perry couldn't reason with himself why he cared so much; and instead of dwelling on it, Perry chose to push it to the back of his mind and check that JD was really ok.

* * *

><p>JD got off the bus in a slight haze and stumbled the short distance home. His head was still spinning.<p>

He arrived home and instantly felt uneasy. There was a cold emptiness in the house and the silence was strange and eerie. Somebody was in the house, he was almost certain he had never seen those pair of trainers by the door before. His brother had plans with friends and his mother was still at work, so who on Earth would be there? A sound coming from upstairs made JD jump. He was frightened, but he couldn't ignore it. The sound got louder, but then abruptly stopped. He started to climb the stairs quietly, desperate not to disturb the intruder. The sound of the front door opening and slamming shut behind him sounded like music to his ears. JD spun around on the spot and instantly regretted it. His head was still sensitive to sharp movement, and the sudden spin caused him to lose his footing.

"Ahh!" He cried as felt the ground fall away from beneath him. Without warning, a arm wrapped itself tightly around his waist and pulled him to safety.

"Whoa, kiddo! You alright there?"

JD looked behind him to see that Mike was the one holding him up. He quickly tried to squirm out of his touch, but Mike was too strong.

"Easy there, tiger. You wanna fall?" The man supported JD until they were back on solid flooring before lowering the boy.

Dan's loud sigh of relief altered JD to his presence once more. "Good things Mike's here, right Johnny?" Dan gave his brother a friendly pat on the back before moving through the house and out of sight.

JD stood there with Mike, knowing he should thank him, but couldn't do it.

Mike smiled creepily. "What no thank you?"

JD couldn't control himself any longer. "Rot in hell, dirt bag." JD couldn't take it back, so whilst he was inwardly panicking; his face showed nothing but an angry glare for the man who had just saved him from more suffering and humiliation.

"You ungrateful little shit!" Mike grabbed JD tightly by the arm and threw him against the wall, watching in mild satisfaction as JD rebounded loudly and fell to the floor with a loud thud. JD couldn't feel the pain yet, he was still in shock. He did, however, make mental note of all the places that hurt as the lay on the floor.

_Right arm's pinkie and index finger, fractured_

_Right arm's thumb and middle finger, fractured maybe broken_

_Shoulder, disconnected_

_Head, scratched_

_Left upper arm, bruised_

_Right ankle, twisted_

_Left cheek, scratched_

At that moment, Dan came rushing back into sight and looked between his brother and Mike. "What happened?"

Mike tried to keep up his charade and bent down next to JD. "Oh, my God! I tried to steady his balance but he kept struggling and then he tripped and fell."

Dan nodded, clearly buying the story.

"No..." JD moaned in pain, but he was ignored.

"Johnny." Dan groaned as to say why-do-you-keep-doing-this-to-me. "John, you should really be more careful..."

_What are you doing? Don't believe him! Believe me..._

"You look like you're pretty busy, Dan. How about you finish up and I'll help get this little klutz upstairs to his room?" Mike offered, smiling warmly as Dan nodded and turned his attention back to his brother.

"You be good," Dan smiled at his brother before turning on his heel and getting back to what he was doing.

_No Dan jet back here! He's gonna kill me! Dan help! He threw me down the stairs, why don't you believe me...?_

Mike scooped the young boy up into his arms and carried him up the stairs, "I'm sorry, but you forced me to do that John. It's OK though, I'll take care of you until you're all better." Mike opened his room and put JD in his bed. He then tucked him in and moved close to his face. "Treat me with respect and you won't get hurt." He then gave him a small peak on the lips and walked quickly out of the room.

* * *

><p>Perry sat in first period waiting impatiently for class to start. All he really wanted to do was get on with the day so he could get out of this dump. Earlier on, Jordan had been dictating him on when to pick her up, what to wear and how to behave on their 'date.' It was moments like this when he remembered why he had broken up with her in the first place. He inwardly smiled when the bell rang and the teacher started roll call.<p>

"Elliot"

"Here"

"Doug"

"H-here"

"Perry"

"Here"

"Hooch"

"Here"

"John"

"..."

"John?"

"..."

The teacher turned away from her attendance and scanned the class room for the new child. "Does anyone know where John is?" the teacher asked.

Elliot raised her hand as high as it could go and waited for the teacher to look in her direction. "He wasn't on the bus this morning," Elliot informed the teacher, proud of her observation.

The teacher pondered the information for a moment before sighing and returning to roll call. "Alright then; I guess he's absent."

The teacher had only managed to get through a few more names before the door swung open and JD stood in the frame, clutching his side as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

"S-So-Sorry *gasp* I'm *gasp* l-late." he apologised.

The teacher looked up at the interruption and rolled her eyes. "Alright, just don't start making this a habit of yours." The teacher muttered, her tone laced with irritation. "Now take your seat, you're disturbing my class."

JD nodded and headed awkwardly toward his seat. Perry watched him with mild confusion. Something was off, he could just tell. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was sure that something wasn't right with that boy.

After attendance the teacher broke everyone into their pairs and told them to work on their projects. Perry watched as JD made his way to him and again something was odd, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Hey sleeping beauty, how ya feeling?" Perry retorted.

"See, I knew you cared." JD squealed happily.

"What are you talking about?" The frown on Perry's face wavered slightly as JD continued to smile at him.

"Well, even though you insulted me you also asked how I was doing. This means you care."

Perry groaned and shook his head slowly to emphasise his disagreement.

"No, it was just an insult in fact I couldn't care less if you got abducted by aliens and figured out the meaning to life."

JD pouted. "Whatever, I still think you care."

Perry shook his head and threw a note book at the other boy. JD put up his right hand to catch it, but it the book flew right past him. Perry raised an eyebrow. _He didn't even try to catch that._

"Mary, you can't be _that_ bad at sports."

JD blushed slightly as he muttered a feeble sorry before getting up to retrieve the item. Perry watched the boy stalk across the room after the offending item and then realisation hit him like a brick. He was limping.


	9. Nine

Perry tried his hardest not to stare as JD hobbled back over to their table. The kid was accident prone, sure, but he didn't appear to be sporting any physical injuries. JD winced as he retook his seat.

"I don't think you realise just how strong your throw is," JD laughed feebly as he dropped the notebook onto the table.

Perry rolled his eyes and pretended to groan.

"Not _everybody_ throws like you, Caroline."

Perry grabbed the notebook and searched for a clean page. "Did you take any notes over the weekend?"

JD pouted and muttered something into the table top.

Perry sighed and swivelled his body so he was facing the boy next to him.

"What'd ya say? Didn't quite catch that."

JD looked up briefly to find the older boy glaring intently at him and quickly looked away. The last couple of days had been life changing in JD's eyes, and he was beginning to resent the teacher that had paired him with Perry in the first place. JD was changing who he was to please the boy in front of him, yet right now all he could think about was the look of disappointment and disgust that would inevitably be on the older boy's face once he finds out that he did not research over the weekend. JD took a deep breath and looked up, continuing to avoid Perry's gaze.

"I didn't manage to get anything done."

Perry heard it second time, but the quiver and fear didn't go unnoticed either. He'd be nice, for once.

"Fine," Perry rolled his eyes. "But it's a good job I did my fair share of work, otherwise we'd of had our balls chopped off and put in glass jars if we had nothing to show that devil teacher by the end of the period."

"So you're not mad?"

Perry scoffed and handed the younger boy his pen. "Mad?" Perry allowed himself to laugh out loud at JD's expense. "You're writing up the notes I made whilst I sit here and flick paper balls at that no good jock cock over there."

JD let out a deep breath and relaxed into his seat a little. It wasn't much, but he was happy.

JD dropped the pen down and readjusted himself carefully in his seat.

Perry stopped scrunching up sheets of paper and turned to face the younger boy, the concern he was feeling barely alighting his features.

"What's wrong, Princess?" The older boy mocked, raising his eyebrows in mild amusement as JD continued to fidget in his seat.

"It's ok," JD groaned. "I wrote down a general introduction to the disease and started compiling a list of the most common symptoms. I will add more detail further on in the project."

_**Acute intermittent Porphyria:**__ A rare metabolic disorder characterised by a deficiency in the porphobilinogen deaminase enzyme which results in a build-up of porphyrins or its precursors in_ _the body. Using certain drugs or eating certain foods can trigger the symptoms of the condition__  
>Symptoms.<em>

_The most common symptoms include: severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, constipation, urinary retention, hypertension, muscle weakness, anxiety, insomnia, depression, paranoia, violence, disorientation, hallucination, back, leg and arm pains, seizure and low blood sodium levels._

JD thrust his work into Perry's hand and watched as Perry took a brief glance at the scrawl before sliding it away to one side. Perry rolled his eyes and tried again. God, pretending to care was hard.

"I meant with you, Sunshine. You've spent the last half hour squirming in your seat like you have something wet and squidgy in your pants."

"Oh," JD let out a breathy laugh and leant across the table to get his work back. "I took up sports club."

Perry scoffed and folded his arms across his chest, his previous aim at annoying the jock at the front of the class long forgotten. "Oh, really?"

"Really." JD nodded proudly.

"What club?"

JD's mouth opened wide and he spluttered for a few moments. This was the moment that he had long dreamed about, Perry finding out that he did actually do sports within the school, that he could actually be cool and not the girl that the older boy was so certain he was.

"Gymnastics." The word was out before JD could even register.

Perry stared at the boy for a few moments before punching him lightly in the arm and bursting out in a fit of laughter. "Yeah, right." Perry laughed. "Even _you're_ not that girly!"

Perry's laughter came to an abrupt stop when he sensed JD's evident discomfort.

"You really expect me to believe you go to gym club?"

JD nodded feebly. He really wished he hadn't said anything.

Perry was dumbfounded. He knew the boy was biologically confused, but to think that the kid actually took gymnastics. It was unspeakable.

Perry choked on his breath as he tried to calm himself down.

"And why would you go and do a silly thing like that for?"

JD blushed and ducked his head, eager to resume work for the final few minutes.

Perry raised his eyebrows and followed JD's gaze. It didn't take a genius to work it out.

"Why did you sign up for gym class, Sandra?"

JD ignored the older boy and started thrusting his books quickly back into his bag, desperate to make a quick escape. A quick hand found its way across the entrance to the bag, and JD looked up startled to find Perry staring down at him, eyebrows raised in confusion.

JD watched the older boy for a few moments. He watched as his forehead creased and smoothed out as Perry kept alternating facial expression. He was drawn to the movement, and as his eyes wandered down the older boy's face he found that the boy was staring straight at him. His musings hadn't gone unnoticed. If JD wasn't already bright red from blushing, he was now. Even so, his eyes never left Perry's face; in fact, they started to travel lower, to the bridge of his nose, to the top of his lip, to all of his lips. To JD, it felt like he was truly meeting this boy for the first time, the cold exterior temporarily discarded as he tried to converse with JD on a level more sincere than just pure mockery.

The bell ringing shook JD from his reverie, and having realised that he had spent the best part of a minute and a half staring at the older boy's face, grabbed his bag and ran from the classroom before the other boy could muster up a sentence.

Perry stood shock still at their table. JD just checked him over, right? He shook his head and slowly started to pile his own stuff into his bag. He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. He was shaking, but he didn't know why. Damn that new boy! He growled and finished off sorting himself out before swinging his bag over his shoulder and readjusting his shirt. He didn't notice the figure that had been standing by the doorframe.

* * *

><p>Despite the eternal embarrassment and mockery that was sure to follow him throughout the remainder of his life, JD couldn't help but smile. He'd gotten a rise out of the older boy, admittedly not a very good one, but a rise nonetheless. There had been a click between the two, he was sure of it. He felt like he had seen a part of Perry's soul, and for that he felt privileged.<p>

JD waited by the main gate and waited for his buddy to arrive. It'd been a long morning, and JD was looking forward to some fun time on his break. He watched as Turk rounded the final turn in the corridor and spotted him by the gate. Turk's eyes lit up and he started running excitedly towards him. JD beamed as Turk gave him a lengthy giant bear hug.

"Turk, you're squishing me!" JD mumbled against his friend's shoulder.

"Sorry." Turk pulled back away from his friend but kept his hands firmly on JD's shoulder. "You will NEVER guess what happened this morning, dude!"

JD squealed with excitement and had to use every ounce of willpower he could muster not to jump up and down.

"I asked Carla to the ball, and she said yes!"

"Knuckle touch!" JD yelled, excitedly pounding his fist into Turk's.

Smiling, Turk nudged his head and motioned for JD to start walking. JD watched the sudden change in his friend but followed him regardless.

"JD, there's something I need to ask," Turk started slowly, his eyes glancing quickly to the shorter boy beside him.

"Go for it, chocolate bear."

"Will you ask Elliot to the ball?"

JD stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at his friend, who was still oblivious to the fact that he had stopped. Turk turned to find JD behind him and stopped also, staring at his friend in confusion.

"JD?" Turk walked back slowly to where JD was standing.

"She'd never say yes," JD mumbled, suddenly finding great interest on the floor below.

"Course she will, dude. How do you think I managed to get my date with Carla?"

"Yeah, but you're... Wait a minute," JD suddenly looked at Turk and realisation hit him. "Turk!"

"JD, please!" Turk begged. "Carla only agreed to go with me if I got you to ask Elliot to the ball. Elliot has been driving Carla all week because she thinks that you don't like her!"

"But I don't," JD groaned, rubbing his hands together to try and hide the nerves that were startling to bubble to the surface.

"For me, V Bear?" Turk did the best puppy eyed impression he could muster on the spot and pounded his fists into the air with delight when JD finally broke and smiled.

"Fine, but you owe me!"

* * *

><p>Perry leant against the window and sighed heavily. It had been a long day; Jordan had been on his back for the most part, and he couldn't wait to get away from it all.<p>

"_What was that all about?" Jordan smirked and pushed herself off the doorframe as Perry stormed off down the corridor._

"_What are you talking about?" Perry scoffed. _

"_You know, Cinderella in there?" _

_Perry growled. "His name is John, or James or something." He shook his head. "It's definitely in the J family."_

"_Oh, so your little bum buddy actually has a name? How cute!"_

_Jordan nudged Perry's shoulder. He spun around to face her, his eyes screaming with silent rage. _

"_Oh," Jordan laughed. "Wait until Ben hears about this!"_

_Before Perry could utter another word, Jordan was stalking down the corridor and out of view._

Perry allowed himself to smile, thankful that he had survived the worst. He tried to focus on the world outside his window, but his ears couldn't help but be drawn to the conversation being had in the seats in front of him. Turk was quietly egging JD on to do something, and Perry smirked at JD's blatant fear. _Such a girl, _he scoffed to himself. He didn't care, he was sure of it. But the opportunity to witness JD make a fool out of himself again was too good to miss. He continued to stare at his surroundings, but his attention was as good as on the people in front.

Perry hid his smile with his arm as he heard JD nervously clear his throat and quietly utter Elliot's name. The smile, however, was soon erased and goosebumps shot up his arms as he realised what he had just heard.

JD had just asked Elliot to the ball.


	10. Ten

_JD had asked Eliot to the ball._

No matter how many times that sentence run through his head, Perry couldn't get a grip on why it bothered him so much. Sure, he wanted to connect with the kid, but jealously wasn't his style. Perry didn't know much, but he was damn sure that that was exactly what was causing his rage.

That stupid kid had asked that annoying blonde to the ball, and she had said yes. Maybe it's for the best, he reasoned. Jordan will have less evidence to suspect anything is wrong and he'll have a happy ending.

Argh, who was he kidding? He didn't want to go with Jordan. Hell, he didn't even want the happy ending. If his night was going to suck, then so was Newbie's.

He was going to make sure of it.

**I know this is VERY, VERY, short, and given my extended absence I can only apologise. However, the next chapter is the night of the ball and shall make up for the huge delay in both length, content and Scrubs goodness. That is all!**


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